Russia unlikely to place Eurobonds in Q1 - Storchak
MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Russia is unlikely to come out on the market with a new Eurobonds issue in the first quarter of this year, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told reporters.
No bank agents have been chosen yet, since disagreements that previously arose over the selection process have yet to be settled with the Economic Development Ministry, he said.
"It seems we won't manage [to place in the first quarter]," Storchak said.
The list of banks from among which the Finance Ministry will select the lead managers needs to be agreed upon, he said.
"The Economic Development Ministry thinks that our approach doesn't meet Federal Law 94 [the law on public procurements], even though three years ago, when we went through this same iteration, we didn't have any discrepancies," Storchak said.
In the middle of January, Storchak said that the selection of who will organize the issue is likely to be postponed by two weeks due to the Economic Development Ministry's questions regarding the current selection scheme.
"I'm afraid we won't make a selection [at the beginning of February, as previously said]. Unexpected issues have emerged regarding the selection procedure at the Economic Development Ministry, and the corresponding documentation, which we simply have to have to finish the procedure, is not ready. Judging by this, we're talking about a likelihood of delays. We won't be able to at the beginning of February. I think there will be at least a two-week delay," Storchak said at the time.
Addressing the timeframes for the Eurobonds placement, he said that "Russia doesn't have any need to borrow at just any price," so the Finance Ministry will focus on the market.
Storchak also said last month that the Finance Ministry and the lead managers for Russian sovereign Eurobonds will decide whether a Eurobond road show is necessary at the end of February.
At that time, he said that the possibility of an issue denominated in dollars is being considered. Also, it would be preferable to place bonds at one time in the full amount envisioned by the borrowing program for this year - $7 billion, he said.
Storchak said that there are no plans to issue ruble-denominated Eurobonds, since priority is being given to the development of the federal loan bonds (OFZ) market, as well as to providing corporations with the opportunity to come out with their own ruble-denominated Eurobonds.
