$75M SLDB issuance undersubscribed

The USD denominated Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDB) went undersubscribed at an auction closed today with only $24.82 million worth of bonds sold after offering up to $75 million worth of bonds, according to the Central Bank (CB) data.

In a bid raise up to $75 million via SLDBs, the government offered 1 year 2 months, 1 year 5 months, 2 years 5 months, and 4 years 2 months bonds at an auction held from 10th to 13th of this month.

In 1 Year 2 Month bonds offered, $7.17 million were sold at 6.69 percent accepting nearly all the bids.

In 1 Year 5 Months bonds offered, $ 12.15 million were sold at 6.81 percent accepting all the bids.

In 2 Years 5 Months bonds offered, $ 5.21 million were sold at 6.71 percent accepting all the bids.

In 4 Years 2 Months bonds offered, $ 0.29 million were raised at 6.82 percent accepting all the bids.

All SLDBs were offered at a fixed rate determined through competitive
bidding for all maturities.

However, the U.S. citizens were barred from taking part in the auction due to regulatory requirements.

“Due to applicable regulatory requirements in the United States of America (USA), it is not possible to make this offer in the USA within the time frame of the proposed Sri Lanka Development Bond issue.
Accordingly, this offer is not extended to the USA or to the United States (US) persons,” the CB noted in the bid document.

Following several SLDB issuances going undersubscribed early this year, the CB behalf of the government successfully raised $100 million via SLDBs in June