* Slovaks sell 1 bln euro worth of the bonds, as planned
* Books close, guidance narrowing to mid-swaps plus 105 bps
* Demand 1.34 bln euros, below last April's syndication
(Adds amount, demand, quotes, details, background))
BRATISLAVA, April 14 (Reuters) - Slovakia sold 1 billion
euro ($1.44 billion) worth of a benchmark nine-year government
bonds <SK270420214=> on Thursday, as originally planned, the
Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) said.
The euro zone country closed the books in a tap of the
maturity with final guidance narrowing to mid swaps plus 105
basis points, from an initial range of 105 to 110 basis points,
the agency said earlier on Thursday.
ARDAL said total demand reached
Total demand sought by investors reached 1.34 billion euro,
compared with 2.0 billion euro demand in the last April's
syndication of this maturity. Slovakia has sold 230 million euro
worth of the paper in two domestic auctions since then.
"Demand was appropriate to market situation, markets are
over-priced, reacting to the euro zone's debt crisis and
numerous information, like rumors abour Greece," ARDAL's head
Daniel Bytcanek told Reuters.
In a syndicated sale last April, the central European
country sold 1.5 billion euros of the bond, maturing on April
27, 2020 and carrying a 4.0 percent coupon at mid-swaps plus 80.
[].
Risk premiums sought by investors to hold the paper stood at
137.0 basis points (bps) over corresponding German Bunds on
Thursday, according to Reuters data, compared with Italian paper
standing at 124.3 bps over German Bunds, Spanish paper at 178.9
bps and Portuguese paper at 588.6 bps.
Slovaks sold 3.71 billion euro worth of bonds and
treasury-bills so far this year, including Thursday's tap.
It was the second syndicated offer this year, following 1.25
billion euro sold in a tap of 2016 bonds <SK240216213> in
February. [].
Barclays Capital [], Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, ING
<ING.AS> and Slovenska Sporitelna, unit of Erste Bank <ERST.VI>
were lead managers for the tap issue.
BORROWING SEEN EASING, NO REFINANCING PROBLEMS
Slovaks, facing no immediate refinancing pressure and with a
debt level that is about half the European Union average, plans
to ease its gross borrowing in bonds and treasury bills to
7.7-8.5 billion euros this year, from 9.5 billion euros in 2010.
"Our refinancing position is sound, overall we have no
problems and I do not expect any surprises," Bytcanek said.
Tomas Kapusta, head of ARDAL's debt department told Reuters
earlier this month that the agency planned to open a new issue
later in the fall, likely with a 7 or 10-year maturity.
Kapusta said the all planned auctions were aimed to cover
need to finance the government deficit and possible pre-finance
for the next year. []
The centre-right coalition of Iveta Radicova, in power since
July last year, pledged to cut the fiscal gap to 4.9 percent of
the gross domestic product (GDP) this year, down from 7.8
percent in 2010.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Slovak
consolidation plan was credible and appropriate predicting a
sound growth for the heavily export-reliant economy in the
medium term. []
Ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch have Slovakia
at A+ and Moody's at A1, with all three holding a stable
outlook.
(Reporting by Martin Santa; Editing by John Stonestreet and
Susan Fenton)
