OREANDA-NEWS.  July 12, 2012. Sviaz-Bank was appointed payment bank for the first offering of foreign currency-denominated bonds on the Russian organized market. VEB-Leasing OJSC offered four bond issues, USD-01 to USD-04, at a total par value of USD 400million on the MICEX-RTS currency exchange. VEB Capital LLC acts as the lead bank (managing underwriter) of the offering, reported the press-centre of Sviaz-Bank.       

The bonds were sold on restricted subscription at a par value of USD 1,000 per security. Each issue has a maturity of 1,820 days from the offering commencement date. Each issue comes with an option of early repayment at the bondholders’ request.

Interest on the first coupon was fixed at 5.5% and will be paid twice a year (the bonds have ten coupons each).

“Sviaz-Bank has been authorized to make payments on transactions with these bond offerings, the first-ever experience for the Russian securities market. Up till now, all Russian companies had a preference for stock exchanges in London or New York in offering their foreign currency-denominated bonds. To our mind, this is a major step in the development of the securities market in Russia, and another milestone on the way to provide requisite conditions for an international financial center to arise in Russia,” was the comment from Kirill Zverzhansky, chief of Sviaz-Bank’s Treasury Service.

VEB-Leasing Company, OJSC, was established on the initiative and with involvement of FSUE Rosoboronexport in 2003 to give a sharper competitive edge to the output of defense industry complex and civilian mechanical engineering enterprises and to upgrade their assets and equipment. The Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank), a state corporation, is the majority shareholder of VEB-Leasing OJSC.