Coming soon: the Eurorouble?

Issuing a Eurobond in an east European currency and swapping the proceeds into dollars can produce rock-bottom financing costs with minimal currency risk. The only problem? Most governments don't allow it yet. But as Theodore Kim reports, deregulation could open promising new currency sectors to issuers and investor demand is already growing.

Dollar-denominated issues have been flooding out of eastern Europe recently, particularly from Russia and Hungary. But until now, European emerging market currencies have played only a small part in the Eurobond market, with the Czech koruna the only one used extensively. The main impediment to new currency sectors for Eurobonds has been the intricate convertibility restrictions placed on most central and east European currencies. Only the Czech koruna is 100% exchangeable with no strings attached.

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