Hanging on the wall of the Moscow City Debt Committee offices is the bond certificate from the city’s first international offering. In 1908 the city fathers raised Ł1889.56 in London with a 5% note to pay for a new tram system, improvements to the city’s water supply and money to build 10 new schools. Almost a century later, at the end of January, the city government issued another bond – this time Russia’s biggest and longest regional note – for much the same purposes.
Moscow city bonds are by far the strongest and most liquid of Russia’s regional bonds and, with 50 issues under its belt since 1992, its fixed income paper has established such a strong reputation that its notes have become a benchmark for other regional issues.
