The bond, Slovenia's first denominated in dollars, was heavily over-subscribed, as offers worth US$ 11bn were received within 12 hours, which allowed the treasury to increase the issue while reducing the yield.

"The final order value of US$ 11bn represents the biggest demand for dollar sovereign bonds from Central and Eastern Europe this year," the ministry said after the completion of the issue, which was the culmination of a week-long road show for US investors.

The ministry described the transaction as a turning point for Slovenia, which had been shut off from capital markets due to general concerns about the eurozone and specific concerns about the country's fragile public finances.

"The success of the transaction confirms the right direction of the government's reforms," the ministry said.

BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan acted as the leads in the issue.