Zambia’s government came under intense scrutiny this week as investors continued to push for clarity on the country’s growing debt stack during a call held on Wednesday (29 May).

Ukrainian bonds have had a roller-coaster week so far but have recovered to levels above last Friday’s (24 May) close, following supportive comments from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s team and a global investor call held by the country’s ministry of finance on 29 May, according to an analyst and a trader.

The Government  of Belarus could issue a Russian ruble-denominated bond in the next two months, according to a source at the country’s Ministry of Finance.

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.

Mozambique continues at the heart of a dramatic debt scandal which has left investors in wait-and-see mode, according to five market participants polled by Debtwire. The government's USD 727m 10.5% 2023 bonds have scarcely traded since January despite many enquiries, said a trader.

There was little reaction in the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Eurobonds yesterday (19 March) following a surprise resignation announcement from the country’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, after almost 30 years in power, according to three analysts, a trader and a political risk analyst.