Issuer: Lebanon
Date: March 1998
Amount: $1 billion
Global coordinator: Paribas
Still smarting from its unfortunately-timed October 1997 Eurobond issue (a few days after the collapse of the Hong Kong stock market), Lebanon was keen to set things right in 1998 and win back the confidence of its investors. It was one of the worst years ever for emerging-market countries to issue—but this would not be a deterrent. The strength of the deal stood out in the turbulent market. Its $1 billion issue not only reinstated Lebanon's good name but also attracted more investors from outside the region than ever before.
With this deal, Lebanon proved to the global community that issuing in these conditions was not impossible for an emerging market sovereign. "This was a chance to have customers to forget their last experience" says Luc Cardyn, global head of emerging markets syndication at Paribas.
The issue, launched in March and lead-managed by Paribas, was the largest sovereign Eurobond ever to come out of the Middle East. It was divided into two $500 million tranches, with three-year and five-year maturities. The combination of size and maturities offered lent to its appeal.