BRATISLAVA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Slovakia began trading of state bonds on the MTS trading platform on Monday, in an effort to increase liquidity in its secondary market and lower its risk premium, the country's debt management agency said.
The central European country, a member of the euro zone since 2009, has enjoyed a comfortable borrowing position with declining budget deficits and an economy outpacing most other members of the single currency.
The debt agency, ARDAL, said trading through MTS should increase liquidity and provide more price transparency, helping attract investors and lowering its risk premium. Part of the London Stock Exchange Group, the MTS platform is widely used in Europe.
A Slovak 10-year bond bid on Monday with a yield of 0.947 percent, 20 basis points above German paper. Slovakia is rated "A+" by Fitch agency and has 33.4 billion euros of domestic state bonds outstanding, about half of that in non-residents' hands. ARDAL has said gross funding needs in 2018 should reach 4.5 billion euros.
It sold 81.7 million euros ($101.39 million) worth of 30-year bonds on Monday, offering its longest-dated debt to take advantage of still-low yields.
(Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova, editing by Jason Hovet, Larry King)
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