Investors who hold Ukraine’s eurobonds attentively monitor the implementation of liabilities by Ukraine under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and hope to receive a signal that the country moves in the EFF, Concorde Capital Head Ihor Mazepa has said.
“Investors are interested in the issue of debt payments, reforms and corruption, something that is familiar to everybody. I get absolutely different comments from them on these issues. The only thing they all share is that the position of the IMF will strongly influence on their attitude to Ukraine… We need to see the decision of the Fund, which can be made before the end of the summer, or the absence of the decision … Until the middle of summer it will become obvious,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He estimated the probability of Ukraine receiving another tranche at 50 percent, and recalled that the authorities currently have two tasks: the adoption of the law on anti-corruption court and bringing domestic tariffs on gas to the market level.
“Until these issues are resolved, new money or new programs are out of the question. As far as I understand, these issues are already in the political perspective. Now everything depends on how the prime minister behaves – as a politician or a technocrat… Obviously, that decision-making on the anti-corruption court is in the hands of the president, and the issue of gas prices is in the hands of the prime minister,” Mazepa said.
He said that the program of macrofinancial assistance from the EU, loans from the World Bank and other grants totaling some $1.5-2 billion depend on the decision of the IMF.
Mazepa said that it is important for Ukraine not to lose the good attitude of private investors.
“Politically-motivated loans are a small achievement, it is important to successfully compete for the money of private investors who are very mobile and effective,” the head of Concorde Capital said.
