ATHENS – There was strong demand for the 5-year bond issued by the Greek State on Wednesday, with the offers exceeding $17.2 billion dollars (15.9 billion euros). The initial interest rate was initially set at 3.97% and dropped to 3.90% due to the strong demand.

According to estimates, with the new bond, which matures on June 15, 2028, the State is expected to raise at least 1.5-2.0 billion euros, thus covering almost 80% of this year’s loan programme.

Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Piraeus Bank are the underwriters of the syndicated issue.

In the secondary market on Tuesday, the benchmark Greek five-year bond was trading at a yield of 3.75% from 3.62% the day before, while the yield on the Greek 10-year bond has risen to 4.19% from 4.14%, respectively.

Since the beginning of the year, the Greek State has raised approximately 3.5 billion euros from the markets. The total loan programme for this year has been calculated to reach approximately 7 billion euros.