JERUSALEM, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israel has secured 5 billion U.S. dollars through a public international bond offering, the country's Ministry of Finance announced Wednesday.

The ministry noted that the offering was highly demanded, reaching about 23 billion dollars, 4.6 times the amount issued.

The issuance included two new bonds with durations of 5 and 10 years, respectively, priced 120 and 135 basis points above the yield of comparable U.S. Treasury bonds for the same period.

According to the statement, 300 investors from 30 countries, including large institutional investors, have participated in the sale. Bank of America, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and J.P. Morgan served as the procedure's underwriters.

"This important public offering indicates Israel's financial stability and the strong confidence of global investors in its economy, even amid global, security, and domestic challenges," Israel's General Accountant Yali Rothenberg said.

As of the end of January, the Israeli government's 12-month deficit totaled about 32 billion dollars, or 5.8 percent of its gross domestic product, mainly attributed to direct and indirect war expenses, the ministry noted. Enditem

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