Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Turkey's Akbank launched a dollar sustainable bond on Tuesday, just months after it raised its first ESG-linked syndicated loan.

Turkey launched a June 2026 dollar sukuk on Tuesday, which some market participants believe is set to come "cheap" as the sovereign looks to extend its curve in the asset class.

The UK government is consulting with market participants about new powers enabling it to block companies from listing their shares in the country on national security grounds. The move comes after concerns were raised about the 2017 listing of energy and metals company EN+.

Turkey has re-entered the debt capital markets with the intention of selling a Sharia-compliant bond, a sukuk. The proposed deal, which some say could come at a premium, was announced just days after Saudi Aramco achieved an enormous order book on its debut sukuk.

Georgian Railway steamed into the green bond market on Thursday, raising a benchmark dollar bond.

Believe, the French digital music company, completed its Paris IPO on Thursday morning but the shares bombed in their first hours of trading in another blow for European listings. However, sources close to the transaction were still pleased to get the deal across the line in what they saw as a boost for the French IPO market after another sizeable listing was pulled last week.

Georgian Railway and Togo-headquartered Ecobank Transnational launched a green bond and a sustainability-linked bond, respectively, on Thursday.

Russian potash fertiliser producer Uralkali has entered the syndicated loan market to raise a pre-export finance facility, according to loan bankers. The facility garnered a strong response from lenders, as they hunt for assets in a bare pipeline.

Russian gold miner Nord Gold said on Thursday that it wants to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange, following a rally in the price of gold since March.

Turkey’s credit metrics took another hit this week after contradictory statements on interest rates from president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and central bank governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu. Market participants said the environment for foreign investors is rocky, and any new sovereign Eurobond would have to offer a "big premium".

Hungarian Development Bank is set to return to bond markets as it seeks €500m of funding, a year after it last raised international debt.

Belarus this week gave investors a chance to demonstrate the ESG credentials they are often so keen to trumpet. Few took it. Although the country’s sovereign bonds sold off in the wake of the controversial arrest of a journalist on Sunday, investors gave a number of reasons why issues such as human rights violations were no deterrent to buying an issuer’s bonds. But there are signs those excuses may not hold up for ever, writes Mariam Meskin.