The increase is a result of the issuance of a bond last July which in turn led to the increase of cash reserves.

The figures show that 38% of the debt is loans from the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund, totalling €7.24 billion.

The Public Debt Management Office said that in July a €1 billion benchmark 7-year Euro Medium Term Note of 3.75% coupon rate (3.80% yield rate) was issued.

The issuance attracted in particular interest by Fund Managers (62% share) and Banks (22% share).

A broad geographical distribution was achieved consisting mainly of investors from the UK (28%), US offshore (24%) and the rest of Europe (28%). The order book reached €2.5 billion.

The weighted average yield in the 13-week Treasury Bill auction in September decreased to 0.61% from 0.89% in the corresponding auction in June.

Moreover, the bid-to-cover ratio in the September auction increased to 1.7 from 1.1 recorded in the June auction.

Compared to the end of the second quarter the total outstanding stock of Treasury Bills at the end of the third quarter was reduced by €16 million reaching €326 million. The issuance of 6-year retail bonds continued with sales of €101 million during the third quarter.

In September the Public Debt Management Office conducted buybacks of domestic bonds due in 2020-21 amounting to €236 million.

Redemptions of short term debt during the quarter reached €342 million. Additionally loan amortisations amounted to €81 million.

Source: InCyprus