Belarus starts replacing Eurobonds with domestic bonds through Russian depository

MINSK. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced the launch of a mechanism to fulfill obligations on sovereign Eurobonds by replacing them with domestic government bonds through Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD).

The "exchange of Belarus-2026, Belarus-2027, Belarus-2030 and Belarus-2031 for local government bonds with similar parameters (currency, interest rate, frequency of interest payments, maturity date) is possible" under cabinet and National Bank resolution No. 643/20, dated September 26, 2022, "On carrying out certain transactions with government securities" and amendments to it (resolution No. 540/20 dated July 26, 2024), the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Only Eurobond holders who acquired the bonds prior to July 26, 2022 and ensure their blockage in the Belarusian Finance Ministry's accounts at the NSD will be able to take part in the exchange.

The ministry proposes to carry out the exchange on the date that interest is supposed to be paid on the Eurobonds in line with the issue documentation. The first exchange will take place on December 27, 2024 for Belarus-2027 bonds.

The mechanism calls for complete disclosure of information about the bondholders, including place of registration, contact and passport information and country of residency, and the bonds they hold, such as number and ownership chain. Bondholders will have to waive any claims against the issuer and inform foreign settlement and clearing systems, through the depository serving them, that Belarus has fulfilled its obligations on the Eurobonds.

Bondholders must submit their information to the NSD at least 15 working days before this date. At the same time, Eurobond holders must send a request to the Republican Central Securities Depository to exchange the bonds through the non-resident depository.