LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Emerging sovereign borrowers,
particularly those with higher ratings, are re-entering the
Eurobond market as spreads narrow.
Secondary market debt spreads swelled to their widest levels
in nearly six years in Sept 2008 after the collapse of Wall
Street giant Lehman Brothers.
Spreads have narrowed since then, from around 900 basis
points over U.S. Treasuries <11EMJ> to 566 bps on Monday.
Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala Development
Company is meeting investors over the possible issuance of
global medium-term notes, and Slovakia is seeking banks to
arrange a 1 billion euro Eurobond.
Following is a summary of proposed international bonds from
sovereign and quasi-sovereign borrowers in central and eastern
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with indications of existing
Eurobond yields, where applicable.
(OFFICIAL) indicates confirmed by borrower.
----------------- CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE ------------------
--------------------- CROATIA ------------------------------
CROATIA - Croatia has picked BNP Paribas, Deutsche and
Unicredit for a euro-denominated benchmark global bond, banking
sources said on April 7.
Croatia's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2011
<HR012612150=RRPS> is trading at a yield of around 5.94 percent,
compared with around 5.5 percent in late July.
------------------- CZECH REPUBLIC ------------------------
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic has begun to consider
tapping international markets with a Eurobond again after credit
spreads dropped, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said on
April 21. (OFFICIAL)
The Czech Republic mandated Barclays Capital, Ceska
Sporitelna and Deutsche Bank to lead manage a euro-denominated
bond in January, but the borrower was not happy with the
projected spread.
The Czech Republic's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2018
<CZ036880007=RRPS> is trading at a yield of around 5.34 percent,
compared with 5 percent in late July.
---------------------- KAZAKHSTAN --------------------------
BTA - Kazakhstan's biggest bank BTA <BTAS.KZ>, effectively
nationalised in February, announced a debt restructuring on
April 24, although no details were available yet. (OFFICIAL)
BTA's $400 million Eurobond due 2014 was trading at 15
percent of par value after the announcement.
---------------------- LITHUANIA --------------------------
LITHUANIA - Lithuania's prime minister said on Dec 29 that
the country still wanted to issue 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. (OFFICIAL)
Lithuania's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2012 is trading at
a yield of 7.603 percent <LT014745980=RRPS>, compared with 5.3
percent in late July.
----------------------- POLAND ----------------------------
POLAND - Poland may issue bonds in yen and Swiss francs in
the first half of 2009, a deputy finance minister told Reuters
on Jan 21. (OFFICIAL)
Poland's euro-denominated bond due 2012 is trading at a
yield of 4.262 percent <PL014423800=RRPS>, compared with 5.2
percent in late July.
--------------------- RUSSIA -----------------------------
RUSSIA - Russia will issue Eurobonds of up to $5 billion in
2010, with maturity of between three and five years, a finance
ministry official said on April 14. (OFFICIAL)
Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on the same day
that Russia would hold a non-deal roadshow this year. (OFFICIAL)
Russia's benchmark 2030 bond <RUSGLB30=RR> is yielding 8.328
percent, compared with 5.63 percent in July.
VEB - Russia has asked the World Bank to provide a partial
guarantee on a bond issue by the state lender VEB, the World
Bank's Russia director said on April 27. He said it was still
under discussion whether VEB would issue a domestic or
international bond. (OFFICIAL)
VEB will issue a $2 billion Eurobond in May, a source told
Reuters on April 13.
VEB's Eurobond due 2015 <RU008214492=RRPS> is trading around
2.943 percent, compared with 4.2 percent in late July.
RZhD - Russian state railway RZhD said on Nov. 11 it would
not go ahead with plans for a Eurobond of up to $4 billion until
the second half of 2009. (OFFICIAL)
VTB - Russia's VTB bank will consider issuing a Eurobond
within the next year if bond spreads for Russian borrowers
tighten enough, a senior executive said on April 21. (OFFICIAL)
VTB's $750 million Eurobond due 2015 <RU021192201=RRPS> is
trading at a yield of 16.647 percent, compared with 5.8 percent
in July.
---------------------- SLOVAKIA ---------------------------
SLOVAKIA - Slovakia said on April 22 it was seeking banks to
arrange an international bond of at least 1 billion euros, its
first international bond since joining the euro zone.(OFFICIAL)
--------------------- TURKEY ------------------------------
TURKEY - Bankers said on April 20 they expect Turkey to
issue a new Eurobond only after terms of a loan deal with the
International Monetary Fund become clear.
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)
Turkey issued a $1 billion 8-year bond on Jan 8 at a spread
of 501.2 basis points over U.S. Treasuries. The bond is now
trading at a spread of 480 bps. <TR040819991=>
--------------------- UKRAINE -----------------------------
UKRAINE - Ukraine has no plans to seek financing on
international markets in 2009, Ukraine's deputy finance minister
said on April 8. (OFFICIAL)
Under the 2009 budget, foreign borrowing, including
Eurobonds and borrowing from other sources, was planned at about
$2 billion. (OFFICIAL)
Ukraine's $1 billion bond due 2016 <UA027605311=RRPS> is
trading at a yield of 16.50 percent, compared with 8.5 percent
in late July.
---------------------- MIDDLE EAST -----------------------
----------------------- ABU DHABI -------------------------
MUBADALA - Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala
Development Company plans to meet investors to discuss the
possible issuance of global medium-term notes, IFR reported on
April 20.
------------------------BAHRAIN----------------------------
BAHRAIN - Bahrain is finalising a $500 million Islamic bond,
the central bank governor said on March 24. (OFFICIAL)
The deal is to be issued by the end of May, a source said.
----------------------- ISRAEL ----------------------------
ISRAEL - Israel is still considering a euro-denominated
benchmark issue this year, a senior finance ministry official
said on March 19, after Israel sold $1.5 billion of 10-year
bonds. (OFFICIAL)
----------------------- LEBANON ---------------------------
LEBANON - Lebanon may issue a Eurobond in 2009 but nothing
is planned yet, the finance minister said on March 17.
(OFFICIAL)
Lebanon completed a debt swap in March for around $2.3
billion of foreign currency debt maturing this year.
------------------------- AFRICA --------------------------
---------------------- SOUTH AFRICA -----------------------
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa will borrow more funds from
international markets soon, finance minister Trevor Manuel said
on April 1. South Africa's Treasury has invited lead manager
bids for an international bond to raise $1 billion, a senior
official said on March 27. (OFFICIAL)
South Africa's $1 billion bond due 2012 <836205AG9=> is
trading at 5.359 percent, compared with 5.57 percent in late
July.
(Compiled by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
