Russian top-flight domestic bond issuers should reap the benefits of a newly cash-rich banking system and a rise in the rouble, analysts say.
Russian state railways recently picked investment bank J.P. Morgan and Russia's Web-Invest to lead manage a postponed 12 billion rouble issue ($412 million).
Even split into three trenches, this is big money in a fast-growing but still relatively small market worth some $11 billion - but analysts are bullish.
"Right now the market is very willing and ready to absorb this much debt from a high quality issuer," said Boris Ginzburg, Uralsib's head of fixed income research.
Last week Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, sold a 5 billion rouble three-year bond with an annual yield of 7.58 percent - the company's cheapest rouble borrowing. Demand topped 9 billion roubles.
Keen domestic buyers outbid international investors who bid for 40 percent of the issue but only came away with 15 percent, said Renaissance Capital, one of the organisers.
Russian railways, which controls the world's second largest railway system, has not said exactly when its issue will take place but did say there would be three tranches of four billion roubles, maturing in one, three and five years.
A crisis of confidence in the banking system this summer sent Russians running to withdraw deposits and pushed overnight rates on the interbank market briefly over 20 percent.