VIENNA, 13 November (BelTA) – Belarus is discussing with Raiffeisen Bank opportunities of further presence in the eurobond market, Belarus' Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich told the media in Vienna, BelTA has learned.
“We are discussing with Raiffeisen Bank the possibilities of Belarus' new issues on the eurobond market. This is a standard practice for us already. Raiffeisen Bank participated in the debut placement of eurobonds. We successfully floated eurobonds twice and raised $2 billion. The Development Bank tapped into the eurobond market. Raiffeisen Bank was involved in all the transactions,” said the minister.
Belarus plans to float $1.35 billion worth of eurobonds on foreign markets in 2020, Maksim Yermolovich said at the Kastrycnicki Economic Forum (KEF) in Minsk on 1 November. “We retain the opportunity to tap foreign bond markets. We are planning a new issue next year,” Maksim Yermolovich noted.
According to the minister, these plans are quite feasible. “In our opinion, they do not pose any risk to the payments on the national debt, because it is quite feasible to borrow such money on the market, at reasonable prices,” the minister said. This possibility is supported by the activity to access new markets which the Finance Ministry conducted in the past.
In general, Belarus has a lot of opportunities to raise resources on foreign markets, Maksim Yermolovich noted. “We have debuted on the Russian debt market this year. We are implementing a program to place Belarus' sovereign bonds denominated in Russian rubles on the Russian stock market,” the minister said in early November.
