N.Z. to borrow S2I6M

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 2

N.Z. to borrow S2I6M

PA Wellington New Zealand will borrow £lOO million (about $216 million) in the Eurosterling market, the Minister of Finance, Sir Robert Muldoon, announced yesterday. The public bond issue would be for five years at an interest rate of 10% per cent, Sir Robert said. A week ago he confirmed that a 250 million Deutschmark loan (about $l4O million) had been arranged by way of a public bond issue in the West German capital market. Labour’s associate spokesman for finance, Mr David Caygill, said that the loans showed that economic expansion was “being financed from yet more borrowing.” The Reserve Bank had only just issued a warning on the matter, said Mr Caygill. The bank’s March bulletin said that if the trend of an

expanding domestic economy continued “it may well necessitate greater external borrowing, which is likely to add to the present financing burden.” Mr Caygill predicted that the Government would be returning to the overseas market with increasing frequency in the next six months. “Under National the country is facing another boom and bust election-year cycle,” he said.