Russia

Siberian Coal Energy Co (Suek) and Russian Copper Co are expected to sign pre-export finance facilities after launching their deals before the end of 2017.

International banks are expecting competition in the Russian loan market to heat up even further than it did over the course of last year, regardless of the onset of further sanctions from the US. Bianca Boorer reports.

Siberian Coal Energy Co (Suek) and Russian Copper Co are expected to sign pre-export finance facilities after launching their deals before the end of 2017.

Russian mining and metals producer Mechel has successfully obtained sufficient support from its lenders to go ahead with further restructuring a $1bn syndicated loan facility.

Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant, the Russian steep pipe maker, has signed a €150m unsecured syndicated loan, the eighth from Russia this year.

Norilsk Nickel, the Russian nickel and palladium producer, has signed a $2.5bn unsecured syndicated loan, the largest facility from Russia this year.

Promsvyazbank, Russia’s ninth largest bank by assets, has become the third major Russian private bank this year to be bailed out by the Bank of Russia.

Sistema, the Russian conglomerate controlled by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, has been forced to cancel the $70m sale of Detsky Mir shares it conducted on Monday night, after some of its assets, including its stake in the toy store, were frozen by an arbitration court in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Shares in Detsky Mir, the Russian toy retailer, fell 8.2% on Tuesday after Sistema, the Russian conglomerate controlled by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, and the Russia-China Investment Fund sold some of their shares in the company through an accelerated bookbuild on Monday night.

Russian diamond producer Alrosa has signed unsecured bilateral loans for $600m to refinance a previous loan at tighter pricing. It follows the trend of loosening loan structures as bankers get more comfortable with Russian risk.

Russia’s Otkritie Bank last week announced plans to write down its outstanding tier two bonds, including an old-style $500m 10% April 2019 tier two, the contractual terms of which did not include a write-down feature. The move was an invitation to sue the private lender, said one EM portfolio manager, and GlobalCapital can reveal that Baker & McKenzie is building a case to bring against the bank.

EN+ Group, the Russian power and metals company controlled by Oleg Deripaska, rose more than 2% in Moscow trading on Monday morning after posting its first results since its $1.5bn IPO in early November.