Twenty Shekel bill, with special text celebrating Israel's sixty years anniversary. Photo: wiki commons.

The State of Israel raised €1.5 billion ($2.04 billion) in a 10-year bond issue aimed at European institutions on Wednesday, increasing the issue by €500 million because of high demand, Amnon Kraus, representing the Israeli Economic Mission in the U.S., told The Algemeiner.

Kraus said the total order book stood at €5.7 billion from 30 countries, which meant demand was higher than expected, which was the reason why the issue was increased and the yield, at 2.93 percent, was relatively low.

“The plan was to make it a €1 billion issue, but the high demand led us to raise it,” Kraus said. “The high demand reflects the support and belief in the Israeli economy by European financial institutions.”

The sale took place in London, with buyers largely made up of pension funds and insurance companies, Kraus said. The 30 countries represented in the initial order book included, “England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong,” he said.

Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Citibank were the joint book runners, he said.

The last time Israel tapped the European bond market was in 2o10, when it also raised €1.5 billion, Kraus said.