Fixed Income
Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds finished mixed last week amid a heavy news flow about the ouster of powerful tycoon Igor Kolomoisky from the post of Dnipropetrovsk provincial governor. The controversy with Kolomoisky, a critical ally of Kyiv in the battle against pro-Russian separatists, erupted after he clashed with the government over the management of state-owned oil transportation company UkrTransNafta. Meanwhile, the cease-fire between army forces and separatists in the east continued to largely hold up despite looking rather fragile. Although much of the fighting has slowed, shelling continues almost daily across cease-fire lines. The benchmark Ukraine-2023 issue dropped by 4.7% to close at 40.3/41.5 (25.1%/24.4%), while medium term Ukraine-20s advanced by 6.3% to 41.3/43.3 (30.4%/29.1%). Sovereigns maturing this September, which are certain to be restructured, were little-changed near 45 cents on the dollar.
