LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Emerging sovereign borrowers,
particularly those with higher ratings, are starting to enter
the Eurobond market as spreads stabilise.
Secondary market debt spreads swelled to their widest levels
in nearly six years in September, after the collapse of Wall
Street giant Lehman Brothers sent global capital markets into a
tailspin and scuttled the fund-raising plans of most borrowers.
Spreads have narrowed since then, from around 900 basis
points over U.S. Treasuries to 630 bps on Friday.
Slovenia may launch a euro-denominated Eurobond next week,
lead manager sources said on Friday. []
Abu Dhabi will launch a benchmark dollar bond following
roadshows next week, one of the arrangers of the deal said on
Thursday. []
Following is a summary of proposed international bonds from
sovereign and quasi-sovereign borrowers in central and eastern
Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with indications of current
Eurobond yields, where applicable.
(OFFICIAL) indicates confirmed by borrower.
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)
--------------------- CROATIA ------------------------------
CROATIA - Croatia plans to pick a bank in mid-March to lead
manage a Eurobond in the second quarter, a finance ministry
source said on March 5. (OFFICIAL) Some local media speculated
the bond could be worth up to 750 million euros.
Croatia's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2011
<HR012612150=RRPS> is trading at a yield of around 7.28 percent,
compared with around 5.5 percent in late July.
------------------- CZECH REPUBLIC ------------------------
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic may go ahead with a
planned Eurobond but only if spreads reflect that the country is
in a better position than other central and eastern European
states, the finance minister said on Feb 25. (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 of 250 basis points over mid-swaps.
The Czech Republic's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2018
<CZ036880007=RRPS> is trading at a yield of around 5.74 percent,
compared with 5 percent in late July.
---------------------- KAZAKHSTAN ------------------------
BTA - Kazakhstan's biggest bank BTA <BTAS.KZ>, effectively
nationalised in February, said on March 17 it may restructure
some of its $12 billion foreign debt.
---------------------- LITHUANIA -------------------------
LITHUANIA - Lithuania's prime minister said on Dec 29 that
the country 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. (OFFICIAL)
Lithuania's euro-denominated Eurobond due 2012 is trading at
a yield of 10.34 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 4.4 percent <PL014423800=RRPS>, compared with 5.2
percent in late July.
--------------------- RUSSIA ---------------------------
RUSSIA - Russia has made no plans yet to borrow funds in the
international market, Russia's finance minister said on Feb 3.
(OFFICIAL) Comments in December by the deputy finance minister
had prompted speculation of a Russian Eurobond or exchange of
existing debt for a new benchmark.
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)
VEB - Russia's state-controlled VEB bank will issue a $1
billion one-year bond at a yield of Libor plus 1 percent in
April, the first tranche of planned Eurobond issuance, a banking
source said on March 3.
VEB said on Feb 27 it planned to issue Eurobonds totalling
at least $5 billion at a yield of LIBOR plus 1 percent.
(OFFICIAL)
VEB's Eurobond due 2015 <RU008214492=RRPS> is trading around
3.03 percent, compared with 4.2 percent in late July.
---------------------- SLOVAKIA ----------------------------
SLOVAKIA - The chances of Slovakia issuing a
euro-denominated international bond in 2009 are minimal due to
unfavourable market conditions and strong demand for domestic
debt, but the country may launch a yen-denominated bond this
year, the state debt agency said on Jan 20.
The agency had said in November it wanted to resume issuing
euro-denominated international bonds this year. (OFFICIAL)
--------------------- SLOVENIA -----------------------------
SLOVENIA - Slovenia may issue a 1 billion euro-denominated
Eurobond next week, lead manager sources said on March 20.
Slovenia issued a 1 billion three-year euro bond on Jan 28.
The yield on the 4.25 percent bond <SI0002102919=HVBT> has
tightened to 3.2 percent.
--------------------- TURKEY ------------------------------
TURKEY - 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 567 bps. <TR040819991=>
--------------------- UKRAINE -----------------------------
UKRAINE - Under the 2009 budget, approved just before the
New Year, foreign borrowing, including Eurobonds and borrowing
from other sources, is planned at about $2 billion. (OFFICIAL)
Ukraine staged a roadshow in June 2008 to raise a $500
million Eurobond, but did not issue the bond.
Ukraine's $1 billion bond due 2016 <UA027605311=RRPS> is
trading at a yield of 22 percent, compared with 8.5 percent in
late July.
MIDDLE EAST
--------------------- ABU DHABI ---------------------------
ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi will launch a benchmark
dollar-denominated bond following investor meetings in the U.S.
and Europe the week of March 23, Citigroup, one of the arrangers
of the deal, said on March 19.
--------------------- 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.
For FACTBOX on Sub-Saharan African bond plans, see
[]
(Compiled by Carolyn Cohn and Sebastian Tong)
