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Agence France Trésor today announces the launch of the longest-maturity bond on the euro yield curve: the OAT 2055. It pays 4% annual interest. The yield as of the launch is 4.21%, i.e. a return which is 3 basis points above the benchmark 30-year bond, the OAT 2035. The price has been set at 95.632. The settlement date of this OAT is 28 February 2005. It is strippable.
Lead managers for this operation were Barclays Capital, BNP-Paribas, Deutsche Bank and HSBC. Senior co-lead managers were CSFB, IXIS CIB and JP Morgan. The 21 primary dealers (SVTs) were members of the syndicate.
After the completion of the order book on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22, demand reached €19.5bn, of which €6bn was served. The order book is representative of the diversity of investors interested in very long-dated bonds: asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies, public financial institutions, hedge funds and investment banks.
Distribution of orders served by investors type
The diversity of the geographical distribution confirms great interest for this product: about 55% of the total volume of orders were subscribed in the Euro zone and 45% outside the Euro zone, coming from such different places as the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States. 
Distribution of orders served by geographical origin
The launching of this new OAT marks the creation of a new liquid segment on the euro yield curve and a new step in the development of the Euro fixed-income market. The size and diversity of demand for the 50-year validates AFT's initiative, which anticipates rising retirement savings invested in prime quality long-maturity securities. The success of this operation also confirms the attractiveness of the high credit enjoyed by the French Republic in the eyes of international investors.
Press contact:
Corinne Dromer
+33 1 4004 1550
+33 6 72 90 35 64