Energy, Mining & Utilities

The Government of Ukraine’s approach to retroactively cut tariffs for green energy projects developed in the country are causing concern among investors and damaging the country’s investment case, according to market participants polled by Debtwire.

Newly issued Belarusian sovereign Eurobonds continue to trade with wide spreads on mounting investor concerns ahead of the 9 August presidential elections. A peaceful transition of power in the style of the 2018 Armenian ‘Velvet revolution’ is the most desirable but nearly impossible outcome for the country which has been under the strong grip of Aliaksandr Lukashenka for the last 26 years, agreed most of the experts polled by Debtwire.

With few signs that a financial fix for Turkey’s debt-laden energy sector – proposed by the government earlier this year – is any closer to materialising, concern is mounting that not enough is being done to achieve an urgently needed operational turnaround in the industry, several market participants told Debtwire.

Uzbekneftegaz’s debut Eurobond is likely to come to market in the latter half of 2020, according to two sources familiar with the company.

As Ukraine’s tightly contested presidential race enters its last stretch this week, policy uncertainty is expected to dominate until a very likely second round of elections in April, if not until the October parliamentary polls, market participants told Debtwire. This uncertainty spells bad news for a country reliant on external funding to make USD 20bn in sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt repayments between 2019 and 2021, they said.

CEEMEA bonds were under pressure again, with a plunging oil price prompting a mid-week sell off before prices settled down as US market participants celebrated Thanksgiving. In the Middle East, spreads widened on the oil market collapse, and liquidity worsened in the CIS/Russian Eurobond market, according to an UAE-based asset manager, a Moscow-based analyst and a London-based trader.

This week’s collapse in oil prices has sent shockwaves across the GCC credit space, said two UAE-based asset managers and a London-based banker. Both WTI and Brent crude hit a three-year low on Tuesday (13 November), and although prices had stabilised by Thursday, a negative mood has set in, they said.

The Government of Mozambique’s proposal to restructure its 10.5% 2023 sovereign bonds, submitted today (6 November), is an important step toward reaching a final agreement, according to four market participants. However, questions remain regarding the timeline for implementation, the possibility holdout creditors may drag their feet, and the likely net present value (NPV) recovery rate.

European restructurings are to hit their next peak 2017, according to Debtwire's 13th edition of the European Distressed Debt Market Outlook.

Watch Chiho-Tiande Group Limited, PwC and Latham & Watkins talk at the Debtwire Germany Forum about the ins and outs of the recent Scholz deal

In this podcast, Kate Marino, Deputy Editor at Debtwire North America, highlights some landmarks in the recent history of this power generation company.

This podcast features commentary from Andrew Berlin, associate editor of primary market coverage, Madalina Iacob, associate editor covering energy and Maria Chutchian, court reporter at Debtwire.