Ukraine is to pay off $17 bln in debt over next two years – central bank

The scheduled foreign currency debt repayments with interest in 2019-2020 will amount to $17 billion, so the key challenge for Ukraine next year will be to attract sufficient resources to refinance external and internal obligations, according to the NBU report.

The central bank says the repayment schedule is quite stressful, but managed, under the condition of continued cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, and if Ukraine implements the program with the IMF, the risk of a lack of funding will significantly decrease.

It is noted that the agreement with the IMF provides access to funds of other lenders, including the European Union and the World Bank, whose loans will be used to finance the needs of the budget. At the same time, according to NBU estimates, in order to fully meet the funding needs, the government will be forced to place eurobonds and pro-actively attract resources in the national market.

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At the same time, in 2019, state banks must pay about $1.1 billion on eurobonds, including interest, and since they are the largest buyers of domestic government debt, the demand for government bonds may undergo significant changes.

UNIAN memo. The International Monetary Fund has tentatively agreed with the Ukrainian authorities a new 14-month stand-by program worth $3.9 billion, which is subject to approval by the Executive Board on December 18.

The National Bank of Ukraine expects a positive decision of the Board and the receipt of the first tranche under the new program in the amount of $1.4 bln to $1.9 bln before Christmas.

According to experts, thanks to the new program with the IMF, Ukraine could attract up to $8 billion in funding from international partners.