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The
sources said the government decided to delay the planned 1
billion euro-denominated bond until the second half of the year
after obtaining the $500 million U.S. loan guarantee, which will
give it more favorable rates on the U.S. market.
"In two to five weeks, Tunisia will issue a $500 million bond on
the U.S. market after getting the loan guarantee," one of the
sources said.
A second source confirmed the details of the dollar-denominated
bond and the decision to push back the euro-denominated issue
until the second half of 2016.
Tunisia last went to the capital markets with a $1 billion bond
a year ago. The government had said the new euro-denominated
bond planned for this year would have been used to help cover a
budget deficit.
U.S. and European officials have been promising financial aid to
Tunisia to help a country they hold up as a promising example of
democratic transition for the region since its 2011 uprising
ousted Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
The North African state's economy has been hard hit by three
major militant attacks last year, including two gun assaults on
foreign tourists at the national Bardo museum in Tunis and on a
beach holiday resort in Sousse.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by
Alison Williams)
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