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Belarus to place bonds in Russia soon

The Belarusian government will place its bonds at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange in late September or early October, Andrei Golikov, a member of the Sberbank board, said at a conference in Moscow on September 8, as quoted by BelaPAN.

He said that Belarus could raise 15 billion Russian rubles or less through the placement. "It depends on Belarus and the situation in the market," Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.

The executive said that Sberbank, which is the organizer of the sale of the bonds, is ready for the deal.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Andrey Kharkavets said that Belarus was not abandoning plans to place government bonds in the Russian market.

"We're planning to start borrowing also in the Russian market to sound out it and investors' interest in our securities," the minister said.

Mr. Kharkavets would not speak about what maturity the bonds will have, noting that the "government is constantly monitoring the market conditions."

He suggested that the government would place between $100 million and $200 million in bonds in Russia.

In July, the Belarusian government placed a five-year $600-million benchmark Eurobond at 8.75 percent.

The second placement of the government's five-year Eurobonds in August helped Belarus raise a further $400 million. The notes were priced to yield 8.25 percent.