The Ukrainian Finance Ministry expects 75% of the holders of Eurobonds issued by state gas company Naftogaz will agree to the rescheduling terms that have been put on the table.
“I’m confident that at least 75% [of the investors] will agree to our debt rescheduling terms,” Ihor Umansky, the acting finance minister, told reporters.
Naftogaz is due to pay $1.78 billion in foreign loans in 2009-2012, including $650 million this year and $570 million in 2010, and has been holding preliminary talks with creditors as a first step to rescheduling its debt effectively.
The government and Finance Ministry ordered Naftogaz on July 22 to take action to reschedule its foreign debt and refinance loans to bring servicing costs down.
Carl Philipp R. Thomas, a partner at the Luxembourg-based Aequi-Libria consulting firm, told Interfax that a group of investors with approximately $100 million or 20% of the issue volume were against rescheduling the debt.
Thomas also said the fact Naftogaz was now a month late submitting its consolidated earnings report for 2008 could indicate the company has already defaulted.
“We’ve raised the issue as to why Naftogaz did not present the audited consolidated financial report for 2008 by the July 31 deadline. We believe that the one-month delay could already suggest default,” Thomas said.
Thomas said this was crucial for bond holders as they could not reach a substantiated decision regarding debt rescheduling without the financial results.
