Ukraine’s Finance Ministry raised UAH 2.8 bln at its
weekly bond auction on Jan. 25 after raising UAH 4.2 bln (in the equivalent) last
week. The auction receipts came from the placement of 3M and 1.5Y bonds.
Practically all auction receipts came from the sale of
3M bonds, while the sale of 1.5Y bonds brought just UAH 4 mln. In particular,
MinFin satisfied all ten bids for 3M bonds at 11.50% (vs. 10.95% for these
bonds two weeks ago). Five bidders bought 1.5Y bonds at 11.90% (the same rate
as two weeks ago).
Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The
government hiked interest rates for 3M bonds significantly in a desperate
attempt to raise some local debt at the extremely weak market amid ever-high
geopolitical risks.
The recent announcement of a EUR 1.2 bln of an emergency MFA
program for Ukraine by the EU
removes the immediate needs in raising local debt. Therefore, the local debt
auctions for the nearest month or so are likely to be a kind of formality.