Greece's Public Debt agency chief says a new 10-year bond was already oversubscribed within an hour of the book opening, with euro7 billion ($9.5 billion) in offers received. The government was seeking a maximum of euro5 billion ($6.8 billion).
The sale will be watched closely by financial markets to gauge the depth of Greece's debt crisis. The announcement of the issue comes a day after debt-ridden Greece detailed a whole new round of austerity measures, including salary cuts for civil servants, pension freezes and tax hikes on cigarettes, alcohol, luxury goods and gems.
The PDMA named Barclays Capital, HSBC, National Bank of Greece, Nomura and Piraeus Bank as lead managers for the bond issue.
