Published: April 7, 2010
Government’s return to the market will be Q2’s sovereign debt highlight.
All eyes will be on Russia’s impending eurobond issue in the second quarter, as the government plans to return to the international debt markets for the first time in almost a decade.
In Raiffeisen Research’s latest CEE Eurobond Investor note, analyst Wolfgang Ernst says there is “no doubt” that the Russian issue will be the main topic on the market in the coming months.
“The first issue will most likely be in USD, with a volume of US$3-5bn and maturity of 10–30 years,” Ernst writes. “However, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin reiterated that the size of the issue would depend on market conditions and the recommendations made by consultants.
“He also stated that Russia does not plan to place eurobonds on the market to cover the full US$17.8bn specified in the budget. The country plans to borrow more in roubles on the domestic market.”
Russia’s Ministry of Finance is mandating banks from a government-approved list of domestic and international institutions including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche bank, Goldman Sachs, Sberbank, Troika Dialog and VTB Capital.