Ukraine

Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest vertically integrated oil and gas company, is embarking on a roadshow for a dollar bond — its second outing in the international bond markets this year.

Kernel, a Ukrainian agricultural producer, hit the market on Thursday with a five year non-call three bond and raised $300m with a trade that bankers said was tricky to price.

Kernel, a Ukrainian agricultural producer, hit the market on Thursday with a five year non-call three year. In spite of fears around Ukraine’s future relationship with the IMF, the leads have set initial price thoughts at a level onlookers are calling “aggressive”.

Ukrainian steel and mining company Metinvest sold a dual tranche dollar and euro bond on Tuesday, but an inability to tighten from initial price guidance and poor trading in the secondary market on Wednesday had some investors worried that the perfect window for EM issuance is closing.

Initial price guidance has been set for two corporate bonds from issuers in the CEE region — EP infrastructure and Metinvest. Both deals expected to be printed later on Tuesday.

Kernel, a Ukrainian agriculture company, has returned to the international bond market for the first time in two years, defying the political turmoil developing in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s wildcard new president Volodymyr Zelensky has been making all the market-friendly noises investors could wish to hear, turning the country into a darling of emerging market portfolio managers. But there’s a wasp at the picnic: one oligarch's quest to regain his former bank is threatening the country’s economic future.

Fears are growing that Ukraine’s Privatbank, which was nationalised in 2016 at the behest of the IMF, may be reprivatised thanks to pressure from its former owner, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Such a move could jeopardise Ukraine’s chances of a new helping of IMF cash and the country’s bonds have sold off in response.

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A pair of Eastern European corporate borrowers are in the market for dollar paper on Thursday, taking advantage of excellent market conditions to secure cheap funding.

Kernel, a Ukrainian grain and sunflower producer, is set to secure yet another credit facility, alongside an amend and extend deal it recently signed. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development will provide up to $80m of the total $300m facility, as the development bank continues to support Ukrainian corporates.

Fitch Ratings raised Ukraine’s credit rating from B- to B with a positive outlook. However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch believes that the country is still at risk of another debt restructuring.