For the first time in this decade and the second in the 21^st century, the sovereign debt of Costa Rica will be put up for auction in the form of global bonds issued in U.S. dollars.

According to a report filed by Katia Porzecanski and Adam Williams of Bloomberg Businessweek, the debt issuance could see as much as $4 billion worth of bonds -a lot more than what was initially planned by the former Treasury Minister Hernando Herrero back in March. At that time, The Costa Rica Star reported that the minimum investment would be $500 million, and Mr. Herrero would later be forced to resign from his cabinet position after a tax evasion scandal.

Declarations by Vice President Luis Liberman to the financial media in New York yesterday indicated that the bonds may be considered opportunistic due to their issuance in U.S. dollars and the low interest rates currently seen in the United States and member nations of the European Union. This means that our bonds can be priced to pay a yield that is competitive, at least in comparison to Treasury bills and bonds from the United States. The move to issue a high amount of sovereign debt comes in the wake of the failed Fiscal Reform Plan and the efforts to come up with alternatives

Vice President Liberman, who used to be a major player at Scotiabank before assuming office, explained to financial reporters that the private sector in Costa Rica should not be crowded, and that the Executive should also realize income to deal with the mounting deficit.

Bond traders have been enjoying increased yields on existing Tico debt since the Fiscal Reform plan fell through; but, as previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, pension fund managers in Costa Rica are mostly sticking to domestic sovereign debt issued in colones that can comfortably pay 9 percent yields. Even some savings accounts pay more than the planned bonds, but traders will probably flock to them as $4 billion worth of Costa Rica debt will be floating around once the plan is approved.