Ukraine extends moratorium on payment of old debts for indefinite time

The Ukrainian parliament voted on April 12 to prolong the Cabinet’s authority to impose a moratorium on the repayment of certain debt tranches. The authority to impose the moratorium was initially granted in May 2015, with its termination on July 1, 2016. Now the moratorium can last indefinitely, until debt restructuring is agreed upon. The holders of USD 19.4 mln in state and guaranteed debt have already agreed upon restructuring, the Finance Ministry has reported. Among the holdouts to whom the moratorium will be applied are the holders of USD 3 bln in Ukrainian Eurobonds, which matured in late December and are held by a Russian state fund, and the owners of USD 100 mln in the state-guaranteed debt of infrastructure giant Ukravtodor, MinFin reported.

The moratorium also applies to the Eurobonds of Kyiv city (CITKIE), as the holders of USD 101 mln out of an initial USD 550 mln refused to restructure them in December.