Article content

Alberta may consider buying back some of its bonds in an effort to smooth its maturities as its debt outstanding rises.

The buy-back strategy, including terms and amounts, is still under analysis, according to Jerrica Goodwin, an Edmonton-based spokeswoman at Alberta’s finance ministry said. The plan, which may start as soon as the next fiscal year beginning in April, won’t reduce overall debt outstanding but could allow Alberta to spread out maturities over the longer term, she said.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Alberta considers buying back bonds to smooth issuance as outstanding debt climbs Back to video

Managing the maturity profile is increasingly important for the oil-producing province because net financial debt is poised to rise 69 per cent to $46.4 billion (US$34.9 billion) by the end of March 2023 from last fiscal year, according to government projections. Last week, the province’s credit rating was cut by Moody’s Investors Service to Aa2 — its third-highest investment grade — citing concentrated reliance on non-renewable resources, mainly oil, as well as “continued fiscal pressures.”