Bosnian region aims to raise $10.9 mln in 3-mo T-bills on April 11
SARAJEVO, April 3 Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation plans to issue three-month treasury bills worth of 20 million Bosnian marka ($10.9 million) on April 11 to help finance maturing debt, data from the region's Finance Ministry website showed.
The ministry resorted to the issuing of debt after the International Monetary Fund halted the disbursement of aid under its 553 million euros ($590 million) loan programme for Bosnia over the authorities' failure to implement required reforms.
The sale will be carried out through the Sarajevo Stock Exchange (SASE), the ministry said.
The lender has already paid out 79.2 million euros. But to access the next tranche of 80 million euros, Bosnia must pass a law raising excise taxes, and the Bosniak-Croat Federation must adopt a new banking law and sign an agreement on due diligence in its two telecoms firms with international lenders.
The IMF distributes the loan payments to Bosnia's central government in Sarajevo but the principal beneficiaries are its two autonomous regions - the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic. ($1 = 0.9374 euros) ($1 = 1.83 Bosnian marka) (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alison Williams)