Ukraine

Ukrainian wood processor Kronospan has secured a €116m loan from the EBRD and commercial lenders. The deal adds light to a desolate market, though a loan for Ukrainian borrower MHP may be at risk due to competition concerns.

Ukraine will have to wait until after its snap parliamentary elections to arrange its next disbursement from the IMF, but the country will rely on the domestic market to meet its refinancing needs.

Ukraine might be angling for an opportunity to issue a Eurobond, but with a new president-elect unsettling capital markets and IMF relations best described as frosty, investors would rather the sovereign held off.

Volodymyr Zelensky's victory in Ukraine's presidential elections last weekend is unlikely to be a catalyst for a burst of corporate or sovereign loan issuance, according to international lenders. Although financing requirements are to remain high, borrowers are expected to focus on bonds and supranationals.

A softening in Ukrainian bond spreads may prompt the country's debt management officials to drag their feet over issuing its next public bond. It would be better for them to get moving.

DCM bankers are expecting a sovereign bond from Ukraine imminently, after Vladimir Zelensky, a 41 year old Russian-speaking comedian, won the country's presidential election on Sunday.

The issuance of two currency-linked notes on the private market should help stimulate local currency markets in Myanmar and Ukraine according to one syndicate banker.

Ukraine drew attention for all the wrong reasons this week, tapping a November 2028 line for $350m, allegedly well below the market value.

Ukraine courted controversy this week, turning to the private market to tap its November 2028 bond. The trade caught the attention of investors and bankers, with some saying that JP Morgan had retained the deal and priced it well below the market rate. Lewis McLellan reports.

Ukraine goes to the polls at the end of March for presidential elections, with investors in Kiev hoping that a reform-friendly result might help the country share more fully in the emerging markets rally.

The outcome of Ukraine’s presidential elections at the end of March will bear great influence on the nation’s economic future, and investors are fearful of the results.

In this round up, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission put an ETF link on hold, venture capital funds will get more tax cuts, and Hong Kong signed up to the fourth closer economic partnership agreement with the Mainland.