Government

The Coordination Council of Belarus, recognised by the EU and the US as a body facilitating the peaceful transition of power in the country, has sent statements to international financial institutions warning that the proceeds of the country’s latest USD 1.25bn Eurobonds might have been used to fund state repressions and that the current government lacks the authority to raise further funding, according to documents seen by Debtwire.

A new type of court restructuring proceeding has been introduced in Poland as part of the COVID-19 crisis legislation: simplified restructuring proceedings available until June 2021, allowing the debtor to individually initiate the proceedings, said Karol Czepukojc and Pawel Dlugoborski, two counsels co-heading Baker McKenzie’s restructuring and insolvency practice in Poland.

It has been a week of new records, according to Todd Schubert, Head of Fixed Income Research at Bank of Singapore. The Arab Republic of Egypt’s USD 750m 5.25% 2025 green bond was both the first green sovereign issuance in the region as well as the world’s first high-yield green bond, Schubert explained.

Angola’s Eurobonds have been one of the most volatile since the advent of the coronavirus crisis. The oil exporter has been dealt a crushing three-way blow by the COVID-19 pandemic, as economic and health crises exacerbate the revenue loss from lower crude prices.

Joint lead managers of the Government of Belarus's USD 1.25bn Eurobonds issued in June - Citigroup, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and Societe Generale - and secondary market trader Barclays have been sent letters urging the lenders to terminate involvement with the notes, according to the correspondence with the banks seen by Debtwire.

Political uncertainty continues to grip Lebanon after the country missed a deadline set by French president Emmanuel Macron to form a government and unlock critical financing this week. As efforts to fill a cabinet led by premier Mustafa Adib continue in earnest, we outline the main issues facing the crisis-stricken country and how they impact its USD 90bn sovereign debt restructuring.

Still reeling from the aftermath of the currency crisis in Summer 2018, Turkish corporates are poorly positioned to weather a fresh storm caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to market participants polled by Debtwire.

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.

The Kingdom  of Bahrain enacted a new bankruptcy law in December 2018, sweeping away its previous legislation and replacing it with a thoroughly modern toolkit. The law is a revolutionary improvement compared to what existed before, said lawyers polled by Debtwire.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) enacted its new Insolvency Law on 30 May, introducing internationally utilised insolvency and restructuring tools to offshore DIFC jurisdiction.

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.

An omnibus bill entered into force in Turkey last week, introducing long-awaited additional provisions to the country's Banking Law aimed at solving a number of technical and practical hurdles to debt restructurings.

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).