MinFin raises UAH 10 bln from local bonds

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry raised UAH 10.2 bln at its
weekly bond auction on Aug. 4 after drawing UAH 10.7 bln (in the equivalent) at the auction last week.
The auction receipts came from the placement of 6M, 1Y and 2Y bonds.

Around half of the auction receipts – UAH 5.3 bln –
came from the sale of 2Y bonds to five out of six bidders at 10.25% (the same
rate as two week ago for these bonds). In addition, two out of three bidders
were successful in purchasing 1Y bonds for UAH 3.0 bln at 9.2% (the same rate
as last week). The rest of auction receipts – UAH 1.9 bln – came from the sale
of 6M bonds to the sole bidder at 7.74% (the same rate as last week).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The 2Y
bonds found quite competitive demand, which is a positive development. However,
the government is likely to quit attempts to push interest rates lower as the
overall number of auction participants remains low.

Next week, MinFin is scheduled to place 3M, 1Y and 3Y
UAH-denominated bonds and 2Y USD-denominated bonds. We are likely to see higher
receipts, as local Eurobonds usually find high demand among market players.