Ředitel odboru Řízení státního dluhu poskytl rozhovor agentuře Bloomberg

Zdroj: Bloomberg, 1. 7. 2024

Agentura Bloomberg publikovala rozhovor s ředitelem odboru Řízení státního dluhu a finančního majetku Ministerstva financí Petrem Pavelekem. Ten v něm hovoří o strategii resortu v oblasti financování velkých veřejných projektů, jako je například plánovaná výstavba jaderných bloků, pomocí dluhopisů.

Článek v původním znění v angličtině:

Czechs to Extend Eurobond Abstinence Amid Emerging-Market Glut

by Peter Laca a Krystof Chamonikolas

(Bloomberg) -- The Czech government is taking steps to ramp up domestic sales of foreign-currency debt as a way to help finance large public projects such as nuclear power plants, while staying away from eurobond markets, according to a senior Finance Ministry official. While regional peers have raised record amounts in international debt this year, the Czechs are taking a different approach. Their borrowing strategy will increasingly rely on bonds and T-bills denominated in euros but issued under domestic law, the Finance Ministry’s debt-management chief Petr Pavelek said in an interview.

The central European nation is preparing for record investments to decarbonize its energy-intensive economy, build highways and speed rail lines, as well as upgrading its military capabilities. While the European Union will provide some of the funds, the state needs to borrow the rest, including for a planned construction of up to four nuclear reactors that may cost dozens of billions of euros.

Though tapping bond markets abroad remains an option, the ministry prefers raising euros through regular domestic auctions or even potential local syndicated offerings, according to Pavelek. The ministry has sold a total of €1.9 billion ($2 billion) of T-bills this year, mostly to roll over maturing debt and to “keep this segment active” and ready for higher volumes in the future, he said. There might be enough demand for about €3 billion of bills a year, Pavelek estimates. “The goal is to keep this going indefinitely,” said Pavelek. “It’s part of the overall plan. In case there is an increased need for financing in euros - and there is a very high probability that that will happen - then we’ll have the complete curve available.”

The Czechs have not sold international bonds for about 12 years as they rely overwhelmingly on domestic issuance, most of it in the local currency. While the euro debt issued under Czech jurisdiction is less liquid and there is a smaller pool of investors willing to buy it, Pavelek said the government hadn’t experienced a shortage of demand so far. The securities are accepted as collateral by the European Central Bank, allowing their holders to use them for liquidity-management operations. “It’s not a barrier at all,” said Pavelek. “As an EU member, I don’t see a reason why most of the bondholders should have a problem with Czech law.”

Global Turmoil

The Czech bond market has been relatively insulated from turmoil and increased market volatility in developing economies in the first half of the year after a series of surprising election results from India to South Africa and Mexico. That allowed the ministry to focus on selling longer-term koruna bonds, with issuance totaling around 150 billion koruna ($6.5 billion) between January and June and earmarked for refinancing debt due in 2024. For the rest of the year, the state plans to sell at least another 150 billion koruna of notes maturing in 2032 or later, and it may include short-term instruments to cover the budget deficit closer to the end of the year, according to Pavelek.

The ministry also plans to continue tapping loans from the European Investment Bank for some large budget-funded projects. The EIB has pledged to provide as much as €7 billion for upgrades of the Czech railway infrastructure. “We’ll keep using it, and it will continue decreasing pressure on the domestic market,” said Pavelek.