Ukraine has received the necessary votes from private creditors to restructure its more than $20 billion in international bonds, providing the country with the necessary debt relief to continue financing its fight against Russia's invasion.
This announcement is a key step in the debt restructuring. The two sides went through multiple rounds of negotiations in June and July over how much and when to repay the debt before coming to an agreement.
"Finalizing the Eurobond debt restructuring deal is a crucial step to ensure Ukraine maintains the budget stability needed to continue financing our defense, along with other critical budget items such as healthcare, education, and social services," Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said.
Ukraine struck a deal with its creditors at the onset of the Russian full-scale invasion to postpone the payments due to the war's pressure on the country's economy.
On July 22, Kyiv reached a principle agreement with some of its creditors to restructure the country's external debt. Without the deal, Ukraine would have had to begin payments within 10 days of Aug. 1 or potentially face a default.
The bondholders agreed to a nominal loss of 37% of their assets, giving up claims worth $8.5 billion. The deal postpones the bonds' maturity and lowers interest rates, which is expected to save Ukraine $11.4 billion over the next three years, according to the ministry's statement.
The restructuring agreement also includes Ukraine’s state road agency Ukravtodor's Eurobonds.
Consensus was a key, as holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding debt had to agree to the deal to bind on all creditors, with a minimum threshold of 50% for each bond. The participation rate in each series of bonds ranged from 95% to 98.87%, according to a filing on London stock exchange.
The agreement will save Ukraine $22.75 billion by 2033, according to Marchenko.
"Ukraine's debt will be reduced to a sustainable level, which will allow it to meet the objectives of the IMF program and meet the expectations of the Ukraine's Creditors Group," the minister added.
The euro-denominated bonds will be exchanged for new dollar-denominated Eurobonds at the rate of EUR 0.8959 per $1. The Finance Ministry expects the settlement to take place on Aug. 30.
The Ukrainian parliament approved a bill on July 18 granting the government the right to suspend payments on external public debt until Oct. 1.
"Once completed, this restructuring will also pave the way for Ukraine's market re-entry as soon as possible when the security situation stabilizes to fund our country's swift recovery and reconstruction," Marchenko commented.
Liliane Bivings
