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Weekly Lists
February 22, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 28
bne:Credit Ukraine rail monopoly
confirms intention to issue new Eurobond
Ukraine’s battered state-owned railway monopoly Ukrzaliznyt-
sia sees the potential to increase its debt by $1bn and intends to offer a Eurobond, according to the company's CEO Yevhen Kravtsov.
With the company’s gross debt of UAH34.2bn as of August 2018, its net debt-to-Ebitda ratio was at 1.5x, Kravtsov said in a statement on February 15. The company has a leverage covenant of 3.0x, based on its agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
"That means that with Ebitda at the current level, we are capable of increasing our debt level by UAH25bn to UAH30bn," he added.
Kravtsov also confirmed that the company is now considering a Eurobond issue, on which he can further comment as soon as the government publishes a respective resolution (on its parameters).
Russia’s economy put in a modest 0.7% growth in January y/y, as expectations for this year remain subdued, despite a controversial upgrade to 2.3% growth by Rosstat for the whole of 2018.
Minister of Economy Maxim Oreshkin admitted that the 2.3% GDP growth result for 2018 – a six year high — reported by Rosstat in January was “not sustainable” and “due to one-off factors.” The ministry is predicting a very unexciting 1.3% of growth for this year but hopes growth will accelerate to 3% in 2020.
Russia could grow more quickly, but the attempts by the Kremlin to sanction-proof the economy have depressed incomes and invest- ment, and the austerity has depressed economic activity.
The Turkish banking sector’s non-performing loans (NPLs), defined as loans with payments at least 90 days overdue, will double
to around 8% of total loans around the end of 2019, although a broader definition of problem loans would mean the share reaches a maximum 15-20% from the current 10-15%, Magar Kouyoumdjian of Standard & Poor’s said during a webcast question and answer session on February 19, Reuters reported.
“We see the currency steadily depreciating all the way to 2022,” Maxim Rybnikov of the rating agency said.
Russia puts in a moderate 0.7% growth in January from mediocre set of monthly macro results
S&P sees Turkey’s problem loans to reach maximum 15-20% through end-2019