June 20, 2003	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1424

RABAT, June 19: Morocco said on Thursday it will soon launch its long-awaited Eurobond issue, a crucial test for international confidence after May’s suicide bombings that rocked Casablanca, the North African country’s business hub.

The finance ministry said it would launch new bonds via Merrill Lynch and BNP Paribas, who won the bond mandate last year, encouraged by favourable conditions on bond markets.

Fund managers said they expected a euro-denominated bond with a five year maturity. But the lead managers said the terms had yet to be decided, and would be determined next week, after discussions with the borrower.

Analysts away from the lead managers said Morocco had no urgent need to borrow, and were probably seeing the publicity and transparency provided by having a large liquid bond.

“I think it is mostly being done for benchmark reasons,” said Tim Ash, emerging bond strategist at Bear Stearns in London. A benchmark bond would typically be around $500 million equivalent.

Last July, the finance minister said Morocco wanted to borrow between $300 million and $500 million worth of bonds.

“Morocco can tell a reasonably story: their financial ratios are pretty good, and they have managed the Casablanca story pretty well,” Ash said. In May Morocco reported central bank reserves worth $10.7 billion or 11 months of import cover.—Reuters