Fin Min rejects bids for 20-year bonds

The Finance Ministry yesterday rejected all bids at its semi-annual tender of a 20-year, 5.75% coupon bond as worries about a possible war in Iraq dented global investor confidence. The ministry refused all bids at the zl. 1 billion tender of its longest debt instrument after investors bid for only zl. 954 million of the paper, due on September 23, 2022. The failed tender follows a 15-25 basis point rise across Poland's yield curve since the start of 2003, sparked by worries over Iraq and increasing global risk aversion. The Finance Ministry said in a statement that worsening market conditions will force it to cut bond issuance this month from the planned zl. 6.2 billion - zl. 7.5 billion, but it gave no revised figures. (Reuters) A.K.