WASHINGTON, Jul 16, 2012 (AFP) - Tunisia on Monday raised $485 million from a bond offering -- backed by the United States -- as the North African nation sought to overhaul the economy in the wake of a popular revolution.
The United States agreed to guarantee the repayment of principal and interest on the seven-year bond.
"This issuance represents the beginning of Tunisia's re-integration into global capital markets," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
The interest rate, at 1.686 percent, is well below the amount Tunisia would expect to pay without US backing.
"With greater access to international capital the Government of Tunisia will be able to provide its citizens with critical services," the Treasury said.
Since independence from France, the country had been ruled by a series of dictators, who left a legacy of high unemployment and boom-and-bust growth.
The revolution began in December 2010 when a vegetable cart owner set himself on fire in protest against the police confiscation of his goods.
The ensuing protests, which toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, sparked the 2011 Arab Spring.
Two of Tunisia's most important economic sectors virtually ground to a halt in the wake of the revolution, namely tourism and the production of phosphates, of which Tunisia is the world's fifth-largest producer.
Tunisia's government has been headed by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali since January 2011. The ruling Islamist Ennahda party stresses it is "centrist" and "moderate."
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