The World Bank has arranged the sale, entirely outside the United States, of a $100 million issue of United States dollar bonds. The sale, at par, was private by private placement with 53 institutional investors in 25 countries.
The new bonds will be known as the "Two Year Bonds of 1962”, and will bear interest of 3-3/4%, payable semi-annually, with the first payment due on April 1, 1963. The issue is dated October 1, 1962 and matures October 1, 1964.
Subscriptions received for the issue were greatly in excess of the principal amount of bonds to be sold, indicating keen investor interest in them. Purchasers included central banks, government special accounts, and privately owned commercial banks, insurance companies and corporations.
The countries where buyers purchased the new bonds are:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Cambodia
Canada
China
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Israel
Italy
Japan
Malaya
Mexico
Norway
Philippines
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
United Kingdom
Yugoslavia
Completion of the current transaction will not affect the total. Of the Bank's outstanding funded debt, as on October 1, 1962 there will mature an equal amount of Two-Year 3-1/2% Bonds placed outside the United States in September 1960. The total outstanding obligations of the Bank amount to about $2.5 billion of which about $1.9 billion is denominated in United states dollars and more than $600 million in Belgian francs, Canadian dollars, Deutsche marks, Italian lire, Netherlands guilders, sterling and Swiss francs.
Over 55% of the Bank's outstanding debt is held by investors outside the United States. Included in the holdings of these investors, in addition to non-dollar obligations, are nearly $800 million of the dollar bonds and notes of the Bank, or about 42% of its total United States dollar obligations.
