Nova Scotia Borrows $300 million in Five-Year Bond

The province of Nova Scotia is raising $300 million by way of a five-year bond, Finance Minister Neil LeBlanc announced today.

The money will be used as part of the province's general borrowing program to finance government operations and business enterprises, as well as to refinance maturing debt.

The new financing will increase the amount of fixed-term debt held by the province, and thus reduces exposure to floating debt in the event that interest rates move higher.

After taking into account issuance costs and discounts, the effective borrowing cost to the province is about 6.58 per cent. The total borrowing program for the current fiscal year for those needs is forecast to be $1.2 billion. Including the most recent issue, the borrowing program is now about 40 per cent complete for fiscal 1999-2000.

The settlement date for the bonds is Dec. 7, 1999.