Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, is considering entering the Ukrainian bond market with a pilot issuance, company President and CEO Oleksandr Komarov said during the UP 100 Business event in Kyiv on the evening of June 17, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Economic Pravda.
"We have an operating business with fairly strong performance indicators. I believe that if we need hryvnia- or foreign currency-denominated financing, we have instruments in the form of bonds, which we are even planning to test in the near future. I see this opportunity and do not see any constraints," Komarov said.
He recalled that at one point in its history Kyivstar had debt of approximately $250 million and successfully fulfilled all of its obligations on time.
According to Komarov, the company has never taken out loans secured by its assets, relying instead solely on financing backed by its working capital.
He added that bonds could provide Kyivstar with an opportunity to pursue a strategy of greater independence from the liquidity currently available to the company.
Komarov also expressed the view that "something positive is happening" at the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
"I hope that some form of relative liberalization will take place and that we will gain access to new, simplified mechanisms for raising capital. It seems to me that, despite the very difficult conditions, we are gradually moving in the right direction," the Kyivstar president said on the same day that a bill simplifying the registration of private share issuances was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
As reported, Kyivstar increased consolidated EBITDA by 28.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, to UAH 7.5 billion, while revenue rose by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion.
