LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - After all but drying up in the
last few months, emerging sovereign borrowers have launched up
to $4.5 billion in Eurobonds this week, from Brazil, Colombia,
Philippines and Turkey.
Secondary market debt spreads swelled to their widest levels
in nearly six years after the mid-September collapse of Wall
Street giant Lehman Brothers sent global capital markets into a
tailspin, scuttling the fund-raising plans of most borrowers.
But improving market conditions have encouraged some
sovereign borrowers into the market at a traditionally busy time
of year for Eurobond launches.
The following is a summary of proposed international bonds
from sovereign and quasi-sovereign borrowers in central and
eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
(OFFICIAL) indicates confirmed by borrower.
For wrap on latest Eurobond issues, see []
CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE
--------------------- ALBANIA ------------------------
ALBANIA - Albania said on Nov. 7 it would postpone plans to
issue a debut Eurobond for 200-300 million euros because the
current market turmoil would have made it too costly. But the
country said it would tap the markets as soon as they stabilise.
(OFFICIAL)
------------------- CZECH REPUBLIC ----------------------
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic said on Dec. 1 that it
plans to tap foreign debt markets for up to $3.7 billion next
year, representing about half of its 2009 requirements. The
Czech Republic sold a larger than expected 2 billion euro
Eurobond on June 3. (OFFICIAL)
---------------------- LITHUANIA -------------------------
LITHUANIA - Lithuania's prime minister said on Dec 29 that
it still wanted to raise a Eurobond, after cancelling a 400
million euro issue in 2008, but would have to wait until the
second half of 2009 for market conditions to improve. Lithuanian
raised 600 million litas ($249.2 million) from banks in
December.
--------------------- POLAND -----------------------------
POLAND - Poland may sell at least 1 billion euros worth of
bonds in the first quarter of 2009 and may also consider placing
bonds on the Swiss franc and Japanese yen markets, a financial
ministry official told Reuters on Dec. 2 (OFFICIAL)
--------------------- RUSSIA ---------------------------
RUSSIA - Russia may reconsider its debt strategy if oil
prices remain below $30 for a long time, Russia's deputy finance
minister said on Dec 22. He said possible sources of funding
included the domestic debt market, the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and Eurobonds. (OFFICIAL)
RZhD - Russian state railway RZhD said on Nov. 11 it would
not go ahead with plans for a Eurobond issue of up to $4 billion
until the second half of 2009 (OFFICIAL). RZhd was looking to
raise a syndicated loan worth $500 million-$1 billion, banking
sources said on Nov 18.
---------------------- SLOVAKIA ----------------------------
SLOVAKIA - Slovakia is planning a Eurobond worth 1-1.5
billion euros in the first quarter of 2009 and a second similar
bond in the autumn if conditions are favourable, the head of the
country's debt agency said on Nov 19. The agency said it would
be satisfied if it managed to sell a Eurobond with a five-year
maturity. (OFFICIAL)
--------------------- SLOVENIA -----------------------------
SLOVENIA - Slovenia has picked Societe Generale, JPMorgan
and UniCredit Banka to manage a benchmark Eurobond to launch in
the first quarter of 2009, one of the banks said on Dec 1. The
deal is expected to raise around 1 billion euros.
- Slovenia's finance ministry plans two 1 billion euro
issues in 2009, the finance ministry said on Jan 5.
--------------------- TURKEY -------------------------------
TURKEY - Turkey mandated HSBC and Citi for a benchmark
dollar bond due 2017, the Treasury said on Jan 7. Yield guidance
is 7.50-7.625 percent and the size is likely to be $1 billion,
bankers said.
- The Turkish Treasury said on Dec 29 it expected foreign
bond borrowing in 2009 to amount to 5.6 billion lira ($3.7
billion). (OFFICIAL)
--------------------- UKRAINE ------------------------------
UKRAINE - Ukraine plans to issue Eurobonds worth $2.0
billion in 2009, higher than the $1.67 billion planned for this
year, according to the draft budget submitted on Sept 16. Before
political and financial woes sent the country to the IMF for a
$16.4 billion loan, Ukraine had said it would issue a $500
million Eurobond in September. (OFFICIAL)
MIDDLE EAST
--------------------------- ISRAEL -------------------------
ISRAEL - Israel hopes to raise $1 billion with a
euro-denominated bond in 2009 if market conditions improve, a
senior finance ministry official told Reuters on Jan. 7.
(OFFICIAL)
AFRICA
---------------------- GHANA -----------------------------
GHANA - Ghana has postponed plans for a $300 million 7-year
bond due to poor global market conditions, one of the banks
arranging the deal said on Sept. 25. (OFFICIAL)
---------------------- KENYA -----------------------------
KENYA - Kenya said on Dec 9 it was exploring ways to plug a
budgetary shortfall this fiscal year other than its planned
debut $500 million Eurobond. (OFFICIAL)
--------------------- NIGERIA ----------------------------
NIGERIA - Nigeria will issue a $500 million 10-year bond to
raise funds for infrastructure costs, the country's finance
ministry said on Sept. 10. (OFFICIAL)
-------------------- TANZANIA ----------------------------
TANZANIA - Tanzania has postponed plans to issue a debut
Eurobond totalling at least $500 million until market conditions
improve, the president said on Jan 2. (OFFICIAL)
-------------------- UGANDA ------------------------------
UGANDA - Uganda will not issue a planned debut Eurobond to
fund infrastructure projects due to the turmoil on the world's
credit markets, the central bank said on Dec 12. (OFFICIAL)
(Compiled by Carolyn Cohn and Sebastian Tong; Editing by
Ruth Pitchford)
