What I mean by "truly international" debt securities is those securities issued in a currency that differs from that of the country in which the borrower resides. By the end of 2000, the euro accounted for 26% of such securities. This share is 7 percentage points higher than the total share accounted for by the euro's predecessor currencies at the end of 1998.
The share of the euro is even larger if account is also taken of the issuance of debt securities denominated in the home currency of the borrower and targeted at the international financial market.