BT to set double record with bond issue

BT is due to set two records today as it offers what could be the world's biggest ever dollar bond and pays its highest rate of interest for it.

The final price will be released later this afternoon, but one observer noted that BT would be promising as much interest as if it had already had its credit rating further downgraded. The UK telco is coming to market after a string of offerings, mostly in Europe, which has seen telcos take on a record $216bn in debt this year, with just under $100bn of it in bonds. Late this summer, BT saw credit-rating firm Moodys drop its credit rating from AAA to a single A, and the company is having to suffer the consequences. It will be paying significantly more than Deutsche Telekom had to pay in its $9.5bn bond sale this summer. Late last month, the Group of Seven (G7) Financial Stability Forum warned that the high level of borrowing by European telecommunications companies is one of the major threats facing financial markets.