Fixed Income
Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds ended higher last week, despite investors remained skeptical that the country can reach a deal to save USD 15bn over the next four years as a result of debt restructuring. The government is seeking to restructure 29 bonds and enterprise loans by the end of May in order to secure the next tranche of a USD 17.5bn loan from the IMF. Earlier this month Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko rejected the first proposal put forward by a five-member creditor group including Franklin Templeton, the country’s biggest bondholder. The Templeton-led group holds about USD 10bn, or 43%, of the USD 23bn of bonds and enterprise loans on the block for restructuring. The longest outstanding issue, Ukraine-23s, rose by 5.8% to 47.5/48.8 (21.6%/21.0%), and medium-term Ukraine-20s added 7.4% to close at 46.8/47.8 (27.0%/26.4%). Sovereigns maturing this September, which look certain to be restructured, were at a mid-price of 52.4 cents on the dollar.
