The Cabinet of Ministers may suspend foreign debt payments until October
18 July 2024 14:19
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted Bill No. 11396 on public debt restructuring. This was announced by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to Roksolana Pidlasa, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee, this document gives the government the right to temporarily suspend payments on external public debt if necessary. This may happen if no formal agreement on restructuring is reached by 10 August.
However, the Cabinet of Ministers will have this right only until 1 October 2024.
Another important provision of the draft law allows the government to include the state-guaranteed debt of the former Ukravtodor in the amount of public debt and restructure it. We are talking about 2021 Eurobonds worth $700 million plus interest.
Pidlasa noted that a similar solution was already applied in Ukraine in 2015. According to her, the IMF supports this draft law, as it will help strengthen Ukraine’s debt sustainability.
She added that the restructuring will save more than USD 10 billion on servicing and repayment of sovereign Eurobonds by the end of 2027.
The committee also limited the right of the Cabinet of Ministers to suspend payments on external public debt until 1 October 2024.
Meanwhile, the hryvnia is breaking through a historic low, but the NBU is ready to “take action“.
