The Ukrainian government says it has reached a debt restructuring deal with its creditors including a write-off of up to $3.8bn (£2.5bn; €3.4bn).
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After preliminary approval, the Cabinet of Ministers must send draft legislation to parliament, which reconvenes next week. “Future projections of general government debt to GDP will remain highly contingent on Ukraine’s exchange rate, its terms of trade, as well as developments on the ground in the eastern part of the country”.
Meanwhile, a Ukraine military source said on Thursday seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and over a dozen others wounded in clashes between Kiev army troops and pro-Russia forces over the past 24 hours.
The joint statement appealed to other bondholders to approve the deal and urged the global community to provide non-debt support to Ukraine in the form of grants. “Solvency and liquidity have been addressed”. Principal repayments due on Ukraine’s worldwide bonds from this year through 2017 amount to $6.7 billion, and will now be deferred.
A statement released by the finance ministry said the deal would also extend the payment period on the government bonds by four years to 2027. Siluanov’s attitude might also signal disbelief that Ukraine would actually pay in 2019; the debt agreement does little to help Ukraine fulfill the International Monetary Fund program on which its financial solvency depends.
On Wednesday, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the warring sides had agreed to implement a ceasefire by Tuesday, the first day of school in Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine has been conducting negotiations with the creditors on sovereign debt restructuring since March 2015, discussing extension of maturities and write-off of part of the debt’s nominal value.
S&P kept Ukraine’s foreign-currency debt at CC, its second-lowest grade, with a negative outlook.
“We expect the market to start pricing in this positive outcome”, he added. Both the President and the High Representative hoped for further rapid progress on the path to visa-free travel between Ukraine and the EU. It is also unclear whether it will require additional debt-financing efforts.
“There is no question that there are risks”, Jaresko told Bloomberg.
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Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko reached an accord with a Franklin Templeton-led creditor committee.
