Audley Shaw, the Minister of Finance and the Public Service. says the ministry has announced terms under which its 2007 indexed bond will be replaced on the market. - File

The Finance Ministry has announced that it will be rolling over one of its indexed bonds due to mature November 10.

Government had raised US$82.6 million on the five-year bond, which was issued with a coupon of 10.5 per cent.

In a notice posted on its website last week, the Finance Ministry said the bond would be reissued, under terms to be disclosed later.

The subscription period is yet to be fixed.

The bond was issued in July 2002 when the exchange rate was at $48.16 to the U.S. dollar, putting the Jamaican dollar value on funds raised at $3.98 billion.

But the dollar is now trading above $71 to the U.S. dollar, which has pushed the cost of the funds to just under $5.9 billion, representing a 47 per cent increase in the principal debt.