He told a press conference that the bonds, which had been sold to about 220 international investors, carried a fixed annual interest rate of 3.875 percent, which would be paid every six months.

“Jordan’s first issue of bonds on world markets was managed by a coalition of international banks comprising JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, HSBC and the Arab Bank,” Abu Hammour said.

He pointed out that the bond issue would “enhance the government’s flexibility in ensuring financing for any future deficit in the public budget or financing infrastructure projects.” Abu Hammour said that his government was mulling the issuance of Islamic bonds, the sukuk, instead of resorting to high-cost local borrowing.

The minister earlier said that his government had succeeded in cutting the budget deficit for fiscal 2011 by adopting a number of austerity measures.

The budget projections for 2011, which he revealed last week, envisaged a deficit of about 1 billion dollars, compared with 1.5-billion-dollars deficit in fiscal 2010.