NICOSIA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus is preparing to issue a 15-year euro-denominated bond to raise at least 1 billion euros (1.13 billion U.S. dollars), Finance Ministry sources said here on Monday.
The sources added that the book for interested bidders will open Tuesday morning and will close at noon.
Citibank, Goldman Sachs International and HSBC have been nominated by Cyprus to manage the bidding, according to the sources.
Cyprus is still rated by international rating agencies below investment grade following the financial crisis that led to a 10-billion-euro bailout by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in 2013.
The eastern Mediterranean island is rated BBB- with a stable outlook by Standard and Poor's, BA2 with a stable outlook by Moody's and BBB- with a stable outlook by Fitch.
The Finance Ministry sources said the new loan is intended to re-finance part of Cyprus's sovereign debt with cheaper money ahead of an overconcentration of loan maturities by the end of 2031.
Cyprus's sovereign debt currently stands at 105.11 percent of gross domestic product and is expected to drop to just below 98 percent in 2020. (1 euro currently equals to 1.13 U.S. dollars)
