15 September 2021
The management board of Ukrainian Railways (RAILUA)
decided on Sept. 2 to issue additional USD 200 mln in Eurobonds to finance its
CapEx program, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Sept. 14 citing information
disclosed on the domestic procurement system ProZorro. This should be a tap
issue of LPNs initially placed in July (USD 300 mln maturing in July 2026).
The bond, which has coupon rate of 7.875%, is currently traded at 103.4% of
par.
Alexander Paraschiy: As the vast majority of the USD 300 mln raised from the latest bond
issue has been spent to refinance the company’s other debts (including a USD 50
mln bond that matures today) and as Ukrainian Railways is still generating
insufficient cash flow from operations (UAH 3.6 bln in 1H21) to finance its CapEx, the decision to issue
additional bonds looks logical. Thus far, the timing for such an issue is
favorable.