Ukraine sees no effect on debt operation from shorter Eurobond holders

Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko expects that the opposition from minority holders of Ukraine’s Eurobonds maturing in 2015 won’t affect the smooth restructuring of all the Eurobonds, according to an Interfax-Ukraine report on Sept. 11. “As far as I know, they are in contact with members of the (ad hoc creditors) committee. They are not in contact with us,” Jaresko clarified. She expects the restructuring of Eurobonds will be finalized in October, provided the Ukrainian parliament approves the necessary legislative changes on time.

Recall on Sept. 9, the holders of the shortest notes released a letter calling for the fairer distribution of the new notes that will be issued in exchange for the current Ukrainian Eurobonds. All the existing bonds, whether they mature in 2015 or 2023, will be exchanged for new bonds with an identical repayment schedule, according to the rules agreed upon with the ad hoc committee.

Alexander Paraschiy: This confirms our view that MinFin is not going to change the restructuring rules that have been already accepted by the large bondholders. Still, two important things remain in completing the restructuring: the Ukrainian parliament needs to approve legislation that allows the issuance of GDP warrants, and the IMF needs to define the status of USD 3 bln in Eurobonds held by a Russian state fund.