00:00Government has refinanced a $1 billion U.S. bond taken out in 2016 by then-Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
00:08It comes from a three-day roadshow undertaken by Finance Minister Devindranath Tanku in New York
00:14to issue and sell the euro bond or international sovereign bond on the U.S. market.
00:20At a UNC media briefing on Sunday, Tanku delved into the success, which was announced on January 22nd.
00:27I am pleased to advise that the bond was immediately oversubscribed by approximately 2.5 times,
00:37underscoring strong and diversified investor demand for the investment in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,
00:45and importantly, confidence in the plans, policies and initiatives of the current Kamala-Pasad-Bisessa administration.
00:53It was sold on aspects such as the government's revitalization blueprint,
00:59energy sector initiatives, which the minister states are at final investment stages,
01:04and those that are already underway with energy giants such as BP, EOG, Parenco and others.
01:11The new $1 billion U.S. 10-year senior unsecured bond successfully closed at 6.5 percent
01:19and at 98.552 percent price.
01:24The notes will be listed under Luxembourg Stock Exchange and will be governed by the laws of New York.
01:31The minister claims it is the largest bond transaction in the past decade in TNT
01:36and the largest order books in five years, totaling $2.4 billion U.S. dollars amid two negative rating outlooks.
01:45Tancu says Trinidad and Tobago also managed a price at better values than sovereign bonds issued by other Caribbean countries,
01:52which had better global agency ratings than TNT.
01:55We increased participation in the number of total investors,
02:00144 unique investors in 2026 versus 93 unique investors in 2024 under Kalman Booth.
02:10This transaction meaningfully enhances our country's funding profile
02:15and supports continued engagement with global investors on increasingly favorable terms.
02:21The debt remained on our books, ladies and gentlemen, as a bullet payment
02:38with Inbert's mismanagement and his PNM policies contributing to pushing the country down the slippery slope,
02:47contracting the economy when it should have been growing our economy
02:51which will allow for bond repayment.
02:52Our successful raising of the bond over the last few days
02:57was as a direct result of us having to finance the loan that was taken out then,
03:03the bond that was taken out then.
03:05The bond must be repaid in U.S. currency in 2036.
03:11Meanwhile, the finance minister states that the government is also working on an NIF3 bond
03:17and a real estate investment trust.
03:20These initiatives, he says, will contribute to the local and domestic stock exchange
03:25and the domestic investor base.
03:27Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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