Russia

Gazprom, the Russian state oil and gas company, printed its $1.25bn 5.15% 2026s on Wednesday, with a book that peaked at over $5bn and with pricing estimated at 5bp-10bp inside its own curve, according to lead managers. The bond was the first from Russia in dollars since the US sanctions imposed on the country last April.

Gazprom, the Russian state oil and gas company, has released price guidance for its seven year dollar benchmark bond, offering a 15bp new issue concession, according to investors. Credit Bank of Moscow is also queued for a return to the international bond markets next week in euros. Russian issuers are re-emerging after some of the US sanctions were lifted last month, improving sentiment.

Russian state-owned oil and gas giant Gazprom announced the mandate for a new dollar benchmark bond on Thursday, just days after a well-flagged move by the US Treasury to lift sanctions on Rusal and EN+. Market participants hailed the move as providing a more “constructive” and “encouraging” environment for Russian bonds.

State-owned Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom is embarking on a US roadshow with investors keen to take a look, ignoring any threat of possible further sanctions from the country.

The US sanctions slapped on Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) this week look similar to those that have just been removed from Russia’s EN+ and Rusal. The move indicates that the US believes in the effectiveness of sanctions and is happy to keep deploying them. Emerging markets investors should beware.

Siberian Coal Energy Co (Suek) is set to tap the market to refinance an existing pre-export credit facility, according to bankers. The borrower is usually one of the first Russian names in the market, and is notable for its robust liquidity position.

The US Treasury has lifted sanctions on Rusal and EN+, the aluminium and energy companies formerly controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, but the fear of further sanctions against Russian companies remains.

The US Treasury went ahead with its plans to lift sanctions on Rusal and EN+ on Sunday. The move was well-flagged and has not caused much of a reaction in capital markets but was nevertheless seen as being ‘constructive’.

Emerging market investors are enjoying an excellent start to the year in the secondary market, but primary supply has not followed up on its strong start to the year. Bankers and investors are confident that issuers will get moving soon though.

US sanctions on EN+ and Rusal look set to be lifted soon, but they have not been the failure that some emerging market investors claim.

The US Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation that would keep sanctions on companies linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, including aluminium firm and bond issuer Rusal and London-listed energy company En+. Although many investors and bankers are hailing this as a victory for Russia that could reopen the international capital markets for its issuers, others are concerned that it makes further US sanctions against other Russian entities more likely. Francesca Young and Sam Kerr report.

In this round-up, the renminbi reached its strongest value against the dollar since July, December exports and imports volumes dropped, and trade volumes between China and Russia reached a record high.