Ukraine places USD 2 bln Eurobonds

Yesterday the Ukrainian government started placing USD 2 bln Eurobonds in two tranches of five years and ten years, with ten year tranche to be larger, according to various media reports.  Mykyta Mykhaylychenko: Indicative yields, according to information circulating on the market, are at 6.8% for the 5Y tranche and 7.9% for the 10Y one (vs. 7% yield for outstanding Ukraine’s Eurobonds maturing in 7 years). We expect the 10Y tranche (exceeding USD 1 bln) to be Ukraine’s largest sovereign issue so far. Proceeds will be used to cover the fiscal deficit and to repay public debt maturing at end-2010/beginning-2011 (UAH sovereign bonds and Eurobonds for a total of some USD 2 bln). With fresh funds from Eurobonds and the IMF, the government will cover the large bulk of its finance needs for this year, though we still expect the government to be active in tapping the UAH debt market over the rest of 2010.