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July 1 (Reuters) – Russia’s biggest lender, state-owned Sberbank (SBER03.MM) placed a 5-year, $1 billion bond with coupon set at 5.499 percent, a trading source told Reuters on Thursday.
Sberbank was not immediately available for comments.
On Wednesday, a source told Reuters that Sberbank has set the guidance at 350 basis points over mid-swaps. [ID:nLDE65T0P9]
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev, writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Toni Vorobyova)
June 4 (Reuters) – Russian banks VEB and Sberbank (SBER03.MM) will most likely refinance a $4.5 billion loan to UC RUSAL (0486.HK), Sberbank Chief Executive said on Friday.
Financials
“We are currently working with them on refinancing, structuring the deal with VEB,” German Gref told reporters. (Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Maria Kiselyova; editing by Toni Vorobyova)
MOSCOW, June 4 (Reuters) – Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM) plans to keep dividends at 10 percent of net profit in coming years, its chief executive said on Friday, after its biggest rival VTB (VTBR.MM) promised a higher payout.
“In the near future we will stick to this level of 10 percent of net,” German Gref told the shareholders’ annual general meeting.
VTB, Russia’s second biggest bank, said it would revise its dividend policy to offer a payout of over 10 percent. [ID:nLDE64Q0JI]
“You suffered less than the shareholders of other banks. Some, I will not say who, are making losses, and not profits … If there are no profits, there are no dividends,” Gref said, after some shareholders complained that other lenders were directing more of their net to dividends.
The meeting approved 2009 dividends of 0.08 roubles per ordinary share and 0.45 rouble per preferred share on 2009 results, totalling 10 percent of earnings. [ID:nLDE62I0CP]
VTB’s 2009 payout is expected to equal some 25 percent of its Russian Accounting Standards net, but comes in at a meagre 0.00058 roubles per ordinary share after a surge in provisions and bad loans in the recessionary year. [ID:nWLB2474]
Gref also said the Russian state would eventually reduce its holding in Sberbank, but gave no time frame.
“We are waiting for the stabilisation of the market. We will definitely do it, but I cannot say when,” he said.
Russia’s central bank holds 57.6 percent in Sberbank.
Unlike in some previous years, there were few tough questions for Gref at the meeting, and the mood was calm.
But the shareholders, who include ordinary Russians who took advantage of a privatisation drive following the collapse of the Soviet Union, were not entirely without complaints.
“Gref has such a salary, but half an hour before the start of the meeting there are already no pies left,” one of the shareholders said. (Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Toni Vorobyova)
Berlin – The bidding for control of German carmaker Opel goes into a final round on Wednesday when Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government holds talks with all interested parties in Berlin.
Contrary to earlier expectations, the government is not expected to name its preferred candidate to take over the loss-making General Motors’ European subsidiary.
Instead, it is expected to keep open its options so it can react to developments in the United States where GM is likely to seek bankruptcy protection on June 1.
Merkel is holding separate meetings on Wednesday with GM top management and the chiefs of the bidding companies – Italian carmaker Fiat, Canada-based parts manufacturer Magna and the European arm of US finance investor Ripplewood.
Senior German ministers, US government officials and the premiers of four states where Opel’s German factories are located are also due to attend.
Sources close to the talks said the German side was expected to make known its preference to GM, but would not rule out any of the three concepts put forward to bail out Opel.
A preliminary agreement is seen as necessary for Opel to take advantage of a 1.5-billion-euro (2.1-billion-dollar) bridging loan backed by the government before a final deal is sealed.
All three bidders are reportedly looking to take advantage of government-backed loan guarantees amounting to between 4-5 billion euros in the event of a final deal.
Opel, which employs 25,000 people in Germany, is the cornerstone of GM’s operations in Europe, which include Vauxhall plants in Britain and Saab in Sweden, as well as factories in Spain, Poland and Belgium.
German officials have privately expressed preference for Magna, which is proposing to bring in Sberbank of Russia as an investor and make additional Opel cars at GAZ factories in Russia.
But insolvency is also an option, according to Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, whose office was forced Wednesday to deny a news report he was considering a break up of Opel.
“Anyone ruling out orderly insolvency as an option is not only endangering taxpayers’ money but also weakening our negotiating position,” zu Guttenberg told a newspaper, the Hamburger Abendblatt.
Insolvency is vehemently opposed by Opel employees, who fear it would lead to massive layoffs and prompt potential customers to turn to alternative car suppliers.
“The workers are angry. It is incomprehensible to be talking of insolvency when there are bidders interested in buying Opel,” said Klaus Franz, head of the company’s employees council.
The future of Opel has become a political issue in Germany as the two parties in Merkel’s ruling coalition seek to position themselves ahead of a general election on September 27.
Both the chancellor’s conservative Christian Democrats and her left-of-centre Social Democratic ally are keen to present themselves as defenders of German jobs.
Merkel met Sunday with executives of parts maker Magna and on Tuesday conferred with Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat. Both companies improved their offers after zu Guttenberg described them as unsatisfactory over the weekend.(dpa)
Berlin – A bid by Magna, the Canada-based auto components group, for General Motors’ Opel and Vauxhall factories in Europe foresees those plants doing subcontracting work for other car brands, two news reports Saturday said.
Fiat of Italy, which has already won control of Chrysler, is making a rival bid for General Motors Europe (GME).
The newspaper Welt am Sonntag said it would appear Sunday with a report that Magna, bidding in conjunction with GAZ and Sberbank of Russia, was likely to close GME plants at Luton, England and Antwerp, Belgium, but keep all four of Opel’s German sites.
Fiat has said it would close most of one German site, at Kaiserslautern.
Quoting persons associated with Magna, Welt said Magna aimed to not only make Opel cars but also to assemble cars for other manufacturers such as Ford and Peugeot.
A German weekly, Automobilwoche, published a similar account, saying, “Magna’s idea is to establish an ‘open platform’ that could be used by multiple manufacturers so that model series can be made efficiently right through their life-cycle.
It quoted associates of Magna chief executive Siegfried Wolf, saying Peugeot and Ford had already expressed interest. Magna was also planning to establish a market for its cars in Russia. (dpa)
Moscow – Trading on Russia’s two leading stock markets was twice halted on Monday as stocks plunged to three-year lows amid deepening woes on the European markets and a dive in oil prices.
Russia’s ruble-denominated MICEX dropped 16.7 per cent to 757.44 points before trading was suspended for the second time on Monday afternoon, while the dollar-denominated RTS free fell 15 per cent to below the 1,000-point mark to as low as
902.37 points.
Facing the worst financial crisis since the national default in 1998, the Finance Ministry earlier earmarked over 150 billion dollars in loans primarily to bolster liquidity in the financial sector.
On Monday, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said authorities were working on a new economic rescue package.
An additional 44 billion dollars were pledged to Russia’s three largest banks – Sberbank, VTB Group and Gazprombank – whose stocks again plummeted Monday.
Monolith Sberbank dropped as much as 22 per cent, while the country’s largest company, state-owned oil giant Gazprom fell 19 per cent on Monday.
The RTS has lost 62 per cent from its all time high in May as oil fell to 90 dollars per barrel and amid capital flight over political uncertainties after Russia’s mid-August war with Georgia. (dpa)
Russia creates retail giant with state banks-sources
MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) – A Russian national network of consumer cooperatives said on Friday it planned to merge its shops into a new giant company, and state-controlled banks will participate industry sources said.
The move comes at a time when many Russian retailers are struggling to survive in the economic downturn facing a decline in consumer spending and heavy debt repayments.
Analysts say the crisis provides a possibility for consolidation of the highly fragmented market, with the top 10 players controlling about 10 percent.
The 50,000-strong network, known as TsentroSoyuz, had turnover of 141 billion roubles (about $4.5 billion) last year lagging only market leaders X5 Retail Group (PJPq.L) and Magnit (MGNTq.L).
“Yes, a united retail network under the COOP brand will be created on the basis of TsentroSoyuz,” said Sergei Leonov, general director of the new company on Friday. He declined to provide details of the project.
Russian state banks including largest lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM) will set up an investment fund that will buy unspecified part of the new company, said a source in investment circles.
He said Sberbank could also bring in the new company assets it has grabbed from indebted chains, such as Krasnoyarsk-based retailer Alpi. Sberbank was not immediately available for comment.
A source with a Russian retailer said the idea was backed by Russia’s Agriculture Ministry. The new company will become the largest chain in terms of number of stores, taking the lead from Magnit which had about 2,600 stores at the end of 2008. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)