Vneshekonombank plans to sell foreign-currency bonds, becoming the country’s fifth borrower to offer new debt to international investors this year, the bank said in a statement Wednesday.
The timing, size and price of the bonds, which will be part of VEB’s medium-term note program, will be determined by “market conditions,” it said. The plan comes a week after government officials met investors in London on proposals to sell as much as $17.8 billion of bonds.
“VEB is the corporate issuer most affiliated with sovereign risk,” said Stanislav Ponomarenko, a fixed-income analyst at ING Groep. “If this placement comes before a sovereign foreign currency bond, it will be a good indicator for the government’s borrowing plans.”
VEB raised $2 billion from a private placement of one-year notes in May.