January 2012 marked an important milestone for Kosovo, when the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) issued the first treasury bill on behalf of the government, for €10m. This is the beginning of a programme of about €100m in borrowings for 2012, intended to provide financing for key infrastructure in Kosovo as well as promoting financial sector development. The country declared independence in 2008, but is still awaiting official recognition from a number of governments worldwide, including five in the EU.
“The treasury bill is a modest amount, but it is a good start in that we are gradually creating conditions for bringing more liquidity into the economy of Kosovo, because currently we have a lot of our surplus liquidity invested abroad, so issuing well-planned and rational amounts creates the conditions to develop a securities market,” says CBK governor Gani Gerguri.
