Slovenia is a well-known name in the euromarket, but the sovereign last tapped this market in March 2011. When the country tried to launch a benchmark deal in the first half of 2012, investors were less than responsive. Tensions were running high in Greece, the situation in Spain and Cyprus was deteriorating rapidly, and there were mounting concerns about Slovenia’s own financial position.
“We wanted to issue a benchmark bond, but investors in Europe were signalling they would only be interested in a deal with a 7% yield, so effectively that market was closed to us,” says Dr Dejan Krušec, secretary of state at the Slovenian ministry of finance.
