Austria has launched the first in a string of benchmark bond issues expected this year from national governments and supranational and agency issuers, with the sale of a €3bn ($3.9bn), 30-year deal, the country's first of that length maturity.

Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are managing the sale of the syndicated instrument, which is Austria's first 30-year deal and its first in a pipeline of €21bn worth of the country's bonds forecast to hit the public markets this year.