Bosnian Serb region falls short of target at 5-year bond auction
SARAJEVO, May 4 (Reuters) - Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic raised 20.8 million Bosnian marka ($12.3 million) on Wednesday via an auction of five-year domestic bond, around half the amount it targeted, to help pay maturing debt in the absence of funds from the IMF.
The auction will resume on Thursday for a second day, the region's Finance Ministry said. While holding a second day is not unusual for the sales, it had not been planned in this instance until the shortfall became clear.
Investors placed bids for 39.5 million marka offered at a fixed coupon of 4 percent. The bond fetched a weighted average yield of 4.455 percent, up from 4.25 percent at the last sale of the five-year bond last December, the ministry added.
Bosnia's two regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, badly need cash to plug their budget gaps or finance maturing debt.
Delays in carrying out economic reforms has kept them from getting a new loan from the International Monetary Fund whose representatives will arrive in Bosnia in mid-May to resume talks on an extended fund facility worth about 1 billion Bosnian marka. ($1 = 1.690 Bosnian marka)
(Reporting by Maja Zuvela)
