Ukraine could place Eurobonds in coming weeks
KYIV. May 20 (Interfax) - Ukraine could enter the foreign loan market in the coming weeks, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.
"We see confidence in us - we held a tender on foreign borrowing and all large banks, large investors came to use with proposals. We selected the most beneficial proposal for us with optimal parameters, and I think that we'll borrow in the coming weeks," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Russia's First TV Channel and Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine on Wednesday in Kyiv.
The loan will be a long-term one. "Of course, this would be a long-term loan, we don't take short money," he said.
Ukraine has mandated VTB Capital, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to arrange a Eurobond offering, which Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Kravets has said could take place by the middle of June. Kravets said it would make sense to place in dollars at below 8% p.a. and with ten-year maturity.
Ukraine last placed Eurobonds in the fall of 2007, when it sold $700 million in paper at 6.75% pa. Press reports say the country could offer up to $1.3 billion in bonds this year, but the markets think bond offerings will be limited to $500 million.