Ukraine MinFin raises UAH 2.8 bln from local bonds, cuts interest rates

18 September 2019

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry raised UAH 2.8 bln at its weekly bond auction on Sept. 17 after raising UAH 2.8 bln and USD 547 mln at the auction last week. MinFin offered 3M, 1Y and 3Y UAH-denominated bonds. The interest rates for the placed bonds declined 0.2-0.5pp.

 

Three-quarters of auction’s receipts – UAH 2.1 bln – came from the sale of 3Y bonds to 24 out of 36 bidders at a weighted average interest rate of 15.52% (vs. 16.0% for the same bonds two weeks ago). In addition, eight out of 11 bidders were successful in buying 1Y bonds for UAH 502 mln at 15.29% (vs. 15.49% for the same bonds last week). On top of that, MinFin satisfied all 14 bids for 3M bonds for UAH 196 mln at 16.0% (vs. 16.24% for the same bonds two weeks ago).

 

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: This week's auction receipts matched the sum of UAH receipts at the auction last week. As previously, the majority of auction receipts came from the sale of bonds with the highest terms of maturity. Meanwhile, the downward trend of interest rates is continuing.

 

It's worth monitoring whether or not the recent careless statement by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on a possible compromise with Ihor Kolomoisky on Privatbank will have an impact on the local bond market. This statement, along with the disturbing arson of the Kyiv house belonging to former National Bank Governor Valeria Gontareva, might have a negative impact on non-resident investors who are active buyers of Ukraine’s local debt.