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Viewing cable 05PARIS1238, FRANCE ISSUES 50-YEAR GOVERNMENT BONDS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05PARIS1238 2005-02-25 18:19 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Paris
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001238 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS FEDERAL RESERVE 
PASS CEA 
STATE FOR EB and EUR 
TREASURY FOR DO/IM 
TREASURY ALSO FOR DO/IMB AND DO/E WDINKELACKER 
USDOC FOR 4212/MAC/EUR/OEURA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ECON PGOV FR PBIO
SUBJECT: FRANCE ISSUES 50-YEAR GOVERNMENT BONDS 
 
1. SUMMARY.  France has introduced a new financial 
instrument on the debt markets: 50-year Government bonds. 
Faced with an aging population and pension reforms, France 
tapped the bond market to take advantage of low long-term 
interest rates and robust demand.  The issuance, which has 
been a success, fits the GOF strategy to improve management 
of its public debt. END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
France Innovates, Issuing 50-year Bonds 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2.  On February 18, the GOF announced the launch of a 50- 
year bond issue.  Chief executive at Agence France Tresor 
(AFT) Bertrand de Mazieres said with this new government 
bond ("Obligation Assimilable du Tresor - OAT), "we are 
opening a new frontier" in the euro fixed-income market, 
extending the market from the 30-year segment.  The AFT, 
which manages the Government's debt, made the decision after 
an investor survey showed strong potential demand for 50- 
year bonds.  The survey, which was conducted among 
institutional investors in Europe and the U.S., showed that 
aging populations, asset-liability mismatches at pension 
funds and insurance companies, and regulatory changes in the 
EU, supported a new bond with very long-dated maturity.  The 
new bond is not directly available to individual investors, 
but individual investors may invest in them through mutual 
funds. 
 
3.  De Mazieres stressed that France maintains its tradition 
of innovating on the euro market.  France is the first 
country to launch a government bond with maturity higher 
than 30 years.  France was the first euro-zone country to 
issue French-inflation linked bonds in 1998, and euro-zone 
inflation linked bonds in 2001. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Strategy to Improve Management of Public Debt 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
4.  For the government, the timing was attractive to issue a 
50-year bond, since euro-zone government bond yields have 
fallen to record low levels, offering the GOF new funds at 
historically cheap levels.  Finance Minister Herve Gaymard 
had stressed that the issue was part of a strategy to give 
safety and liquidity to investors, while providing the GOF 
with the best financial conditions.  He remarked that "this 
strategy was strongly related to rigorous management of 
public finances associated with the European Stability and 
Growth Pact, which aims to reduce budget deficit and debt." 
 
5.  France's public debt amounts to 64% of GDP.  Negotiable 
debt amounted to 833 billion euros on January 31, 2005. 
Long-term bonds accounted for the bulk (67% or 560 billion 
euros), medium-term bills for 21% or 177 billion euros, and 
short-term bills for 11% or 96 billion. 
 
------------------------------------- 
The Issue was Popular among Investors 
------------------------------------- 
 
6.  Institutional investors, including insurance companies, 
pension funds, asset managers and hedge funds, subscribed 
for three times the amount of securities offered by the GOF. 
The strong demand prompted ATF to increase the size of the 
issuance to 6 billion euros, from an initial target of 3-5 
billion euros.  The bond will pay annual interest of 4%, and 
was priced to yield 4.21%.  Deputy Chief Executive of AFT 
Benoit Coeure said "when you manage a new product you need 
participants from all parts of the market to make the issue 
liquid."  50-year bonds have the advantage of being low-risk 
fixed-income investments.  AFT specialists explained that an 
increase in the volatility of interest rates, even limited, 
gives an advantage to 50-year bonds as the price of bonds 
decreases less if interest rates increase, and increase more 
if interest rates decrease. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Other Countries are Likely to Follow France 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  Other governments could follow the French lead and issue 
50-year bonds.  Germany, Italy and the U.K. previously said 
they have been considering whether to begin issuing similar 
long-dated bonds. 
WOLFF