CEE Bonds

As the half year point of 2015 approaches, year to date CEEMEA volumes are at their lowest in six years. No bookrunner has escaped the plunge unscathed. But some have suffered more than others, and a rare few have taken a larger share of a shrinking CEEMEA market.

Gabon has ended a weeks-long run of Middle East dollar benchmarks with a 10 year transaction, but National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Drake & Scull International are making sure the Middle East remains the driver of CEEMEA supply.

The Gabonese Republic and MFB Hungarian Development Bank have little in common, other than being the best prospects to break the Middle East’s dominance of the CEEMEA benchmark market.

Troubled Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest failed to draw a quorum at a bondholder meeting on June 1 — part of a prolonged attempt to reprofile its debt.

Podemos, the anti-austerity political party in Spain, is mounting a strong challenge to traditional political parties with a general election due by the end of the year. Eduardo Gutiérrez, economic adviser to Podemos, talks to Victor Jimenez about the party’s plans if it comes to power.

Latvenergo, a state-owned Latvian electricity company, opened books on a sub-benchmark sized green bond on Wednesday morning — its first ever international bond deal and Latvia's first green bond.

Troubled Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest failed to draw a quorum at a bondholder meeting on June 1 — part of a prolonged attempt to reprofile its debt.

MFB Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) has mandated for its first euro deal in four years, and kicks off investor meetings next week.

The Middle East is still churning out deals and replenishing its pipeline, but a Gabonese Republic mandate offers hope of some diversification in CEEMEA. Petrobras and Buenos Aires, meanwhile, are among the names lighting up the Latin American bond markets.

Recent volatility in US and European bond markets has damaged capital flows into emerging markets. Although some analysts are expecting things to improve, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) expects capital flows into EM to hit their lowest level since the 2008 this year.

A barrage of consent solicitations from troubled Ukrainian firms continued this week, with Ferrexpo announcing a second exchange offer on its 2016 dollar bonds and State Export-Import Bank a preliminary restructuring agreement with its own bondholders.

The Republic of Ukraine issued a $1bn five year USAID-backed deal on Tuesday that was met with delight by holders of the country’s existing debt. The deal and ongoing support from the US is invaluable to the country, they said.