28 May 2009
MEDIA STATEMENT

Embargoed until 2pm

Philip Combes
Treasurer
New Zealand Debt Management Office

2009/10 DOMESTIC DEBT PROGRAMME

The New Zealand Debt Management Office (“NZDMO”) announced today details of the Government’s 2009/10 domestic debt programme.

Bond Issuance

The NZDMO intends to issue up to $8.5 billion of government bonds in 2009/10. To meet this funding requirement, the NZDMO expects to offer around $150 million to $200 million of bonds per week through a combination of regular weekly tenders and occasional tap tenders.

The Budget forecasts include bond programmes of $11.5 billion in 2010/11 and $15 billion in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 fiscal years.

The regular bond tender schedule for July to September 2009 will be released in late June.

Bond Switches and Tender Oversubscriptions

The NZDMO will shortly undertake market consultation on some new initiatives to improve bond market liquidity. These initiatives will initially include the use of bond switches and a review of tender oversubscription rules.

Treasury Bills

Since late December 2008, treasury bill issuance has increased from around $200 million to $500 million per week in three and six-month maturities. The one-year treasury bill may also be reintroduced if there is market demand and if it is cost effective to do so.

Given current demand, the NZDMO expects to continue issuing a combination of maturities totalling around $500 million of treasury bills per week. Ongoing issuance volumes will depend on investor interest and NZDMO’s short-term funding requirements.

ENDS

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