ISIS in backyard to spur cost of Iraq Eurobond experiment
Iraq’s effort to enlist bond investors in its fight against ISIS and a collapse in the price of crude won’t come cheap. The Gulf nation’s first trial in the Eurobond market in almost a decade means it may have to pay “double-digit” interest to lure investors, said Morten Bugge, who helps manage about $2.5 billion […]Arif Sharif reports for Bloomberg:
Iraq’s effort to enlist bond investors in its fight against ISIS and a collapse in the price of crude won’t come cheap. The Gulf nation’s first trial in the Eurobond market in almost a decade means it may have to pay “double-digit” interest to lure investors, said Morten Bugge, who helps manage about $2.5 billion of emerging-market debt at Kolding, Denmark-based Global Evolution A/S. Iraq announced a $6 billion bond program Tuesday and may hold sales meetings with international investors as soon as September, people familiar with the matter said.
“It’s an oil exporter with ISIS in their backyard which weighs negatively on the bond sale,” Bugge, Global Evolution’s chief investment officer, said.
