Isle of Man Issues £75m Eurobond

Jason Gorringe, Tax-news.com, London

02 May 2000

The Isle of Man recently completed the successful issue of a 30-year £75m euro-sterling bond, its first-ever venture into the international debt markets.

The issue, on behalf of the IOM water authority's infrastructure renewal programme, was managed by Flemings, who have a local office on Man.

In order for the issue to be successful, Flemings and the island's Treasury worked to obtain credit ratings from Standard and Poor's and Moody's. Both agencies awarded the Isle of Man triple A ratings - AAA in the case of Standard & Poor's, who commended the island's prudent fiscal policies and long-term political stability, and Aaa from Moody's, who cited ‘The buoyant economy of the Island and the track record for prudent budget management of the government’s finances which includes high levels of reserves and low levels of public sector debt."

These ratings put the island on a par with putting it on a par with the UK, USA, France and Switzerland, and ahead of Italy, Japan and Canada.

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