The Finance Ministry and National Bank banned non-residents from buying government bonds with a maturity rate of less than one-year. The decree is currently being registered by the Justice Ministry. Concorde Capital: The decision is primarily aimed at reducing the effect of ?hot money.? At present, non-residents hold around 50% (~USD1.2 bn) of bonds issued by the government. However, the decision to limit non-residential participation in bond auctions will likely have only a minor effect on the market, as there are many ways to overcome the ban, such as entitling a resident entity to be the bondholder.