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State-owned joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's railways operator, plans to issue corporate bonds worth UAH 2 billion, or US$76.9 million at par, in 2017, according to the company's press service.
"Ukrzaliznytsia as one of the strategic state companies for the economy of Ukraine seeks to be present on the local debt securities market. The company plans to issue corporate bonds totaling UAH 2 billion in 2017," the press service said.
Read alsoUkrzaliznytsia to launch direct rail service between Ukraine and BulgariaThe press service noted that investors' demand for quality debt instruments would only grow given the high level of liquidity among potential investors.
"Financial analysts note that the Ukrainian corporate debt market remains very inactive. The liquidity level of potential investors is high. There is an acute shortage of reliable borrowers on the market despite the fact that investors' demand for high-quality debt instruments will only grow. Therefore, the issue of Ukrzaliznytsia bonds has every chance of becoming the flagship in the corporate debt market after a long pause and will give impetus to its development," the report said.
Concorde Capital will advise on the issue and placement of the bonds after it is approved by the company's supervisory board. The adviser was preliminarily selected as the underwriter of the issue based on the results of monitoring of providers of underwriting services (management of the placement of papers and their distribution on the securities market) after the cost of the services and experience had been analyzed.
UNIAN memo. JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, or Ukrainian Railways, is wholly owned by the state. The company is included in the list of state-owned enterprises that are not subject to privatization. Ukrainian Railways provides 82% of cargo and nearly 50% of all passenger transportation services. It ranks fourth on the Eurasian continent, following only the railways of China, Russia and India, in terms of cargo transportation volumes.