Local bond placement raises UAH 0.5 bln for Ukraine state budget

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry sold 6M, 1Y, and 3Y
UAH-denominated bonds for a total amount of UAH 455 mln at an auction held on
April 10. The auction comes after UAH 184 mln was sold last week. The interest
rate for 1Y bonds, which brought more than 90% of action receipts, slid to
16.95% from 17.00% two weeks ago.

Three bidders bought 6M bonds for UAH 4.2 mln, while
the receipts from the sale of 3Y bonds amounted to UAH 27.2 mln. The interest
rate for 3Y bonds – 16.15% – was the same as the government’s placement on
March 20, while the interest rate for 6M bonds went up to 17.10% from 17.00%

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The demand for local bonds on the primary market remains low in April
after a fruitful March when bond auction receipts brought UAH 29 bln (in
equivalent) to the state budget. Even relatively high interest rates are not
able to ensure a steady stream of bids to the local bond market which points to
the overall weakness of the Ukrainian market. We do not expect significant
moves in interest rates or in auction receipts at MinFin’s upcoming auctions.