RNS Number:0403K
BHP Billiton PLC
15 April 2003


Date                 15 April 2003
Number               12/03

         BHP BILLITON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES US$850 MILLION GLOBAL BOND

BHP Billiton, the world's largest diversified natural resources company,
announced today the successful launch of its 10 year Global Bond. The proceeds
from the issue, which was expanded from US$750 million to US$850 million due to
strong demand, will be used to repay existing debt and for general corporate
purposes.

BHP Billiton's Chief Financial Officer, Chris Lynch, commented, "The success of
this issue in terms of the expanded size, the quality of the book and the
pricing achieved again illustrates the strength of the BHP Billiton credit
story. This is the first issue in the US market for the combined BHP Billiton
Group, and following on from the success of our inaugural Eurobond in October
2002, will further our objective of diversifying funding sources."

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any
jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful under
the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. A written prospectus meeting the
requirements of section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 may be obtained
from the joint book runners, Citigroup at 390 Greenwich Street, 4th Floor, New
York, NY 10013 or J.P. Morgan at 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017.


Australia
Andrew Nairn, Investor Relations                          United Kingdom
Tel: +61 3 9609 3952 Mobile: +61 408 313 259              Mark Lidiard, Investor & Media Relations
email: Andrew.W.Nairn@bhpbilliton.com                     Tel: +44 20 7802 4156
                                                          email: Mark.Lidiard@bhpbilliton.com

Tracey Whitehead, Media Relations                         South Africa
Tel: +61 3 9609 4202 Mobile: +61 419 404 978              Michael Campbell, Investor & Media Relations
email: Tracey.Whitehead@bhpbilliton.com                   Tel: +27 11 376 3360 Mobile: +27 82 458 2587
                                                          email: Michael.J.Campbell@bhpbilliton.com
United States
Francis McAllister, Investor Relations
Tel: +1 713 961 8625 Mobile: +1 713 480 3699
email: Francis.R.McAllister@bhpbilliton.com


BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077                 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in Australia                                 Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: 600 Bourke Street Melbourne Victoria Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1BH United
3000                                                    Kingdom
Telephone +61 3 9609 3333 Facsimile +61 3 9609 3015     Telephone +44 20 7802 4000 Facsimile +44 20 7802 4111

              The BHP Billiton Group is headquartered in Australia


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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