YEREVAN, September 20. / ARKA /. Order books on the Republic of Armenia's new seven-year bond have exceeded USD3bn, finance minister David Sarkisain said today.

Armenia issued the first eurobonds on Thursday setting the final yield of 6%. The maturity period is seven years. The bonds underwriters are Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP Morgan.

The minister said this issue will diversify financial sources of the country and create a benchmark that can later be used by private sector issuers.

"International experts praised the outcome of the first sovereign Armenian Eurobond placement, describing it as very successful," he said. -0-