Exclusive-Ukraine sounds out bondholders on debt restructuring, new financing -sources
By Karin Strohecker and Jorgelina do Rosario
LONDON (Reuters) — Ukraine has been sounding out major investors over plans to restructure the country's $20 billion in international debt and the possibility of raising fresh financing, three people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
Interactions have intensified in recent weeks led bythe head of the debt management office, Yuri Butsa, who has been seeking investor feedback, they said.
Talks with bondholders were due to start early next year. But concerns that international backing for Ukraine may be waning and few indications that the conflict is close to abating have brought fresh momentum into debt talks, the sources said. The U.S. in late September passed a stop-gap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown that did not include aid for Kyiv.
Bondholders agreed in August 2022 two a two-year payment freeze after Russia's invasion in February shattered its economy and finances, forcing it into a sovereign default. Most of Ukraine's bilateral lenders have suspended repayment obligations until 2027.
Butsa had many direct meetings with creditors, one source familiar with the discussion said on condition of anonymity. Ukraine's ambition is to tap markets early, the source added, to help shore up access to financing while its International Monetary Fund programme runs to 2027, the person said.
Talks are informal and bondholders have yet to form a creditor committee, the sources added.
Ukraine's finance ministry and debt management office said they would provide comment later.
Under the four-year $15.6 billion IMF loan programme approved in April, the Fund stipulated that Kyiv has to overhaul its debt, but did not prescribe a timing.
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