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| - Ukraine said it had sold 1.25 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of Eurobonds with a record-low yield, saying the sale marked renewed investor "trust". The 10-year bonds carry an interest rate of 4.375%, the finance ministry said in a statement late Wednesday. Ukraine's Finance Minister Oksana Markarova hailed the move as "the most effective borrowing in the modern history of Ukraine" in a Facebook post. The news came nine months after comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelensky was elected on promises to implement crucial economic reforms. His office welcomed the bond sale, saying that "investors trust and are ready to financially support our state." Some 350 investors bid for the bonds which were nearly seven times oversubscribed. Eurobonds are long-term debt denominated in a currency other than that of the issuer country, in Ukraine's case typically dollars and euros. Ukraine issued its previous benchmark Eurobond in June 2019 when it raised one billion euros at the much higher rate of 6.75%. "Ukraine is making a triumphant return" to the debt market, Ukrainian investment banker at Dragon Capital Sergiy Fursa wrote on Facebook, adding that the move was partially aimed at paying off the country's external debt. In December, the IMF reached a "staff-level" agreement with Ukraine on a new $5.5 billion, three-year aid program for the war-scarred country. The IMF and other international donors have repeatedly pressed Kiev to attract much-needed investment by addressing pervasive corruption and reducing the power of oligarchs. On Wednesday, Zelensky had talks with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The parties discussed "the course of judicial reform, strengthening of the rule of law and implementation of structural reforms", Zelensky's press service said. ant-dg/ma/jh
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