Sberbank News

European Union leaders have agreed an embargo on Russian oil imports that will start kicking in towards the end of the year and which exempts, for now, pipeline imports that Hungary and two other landlocked Central European states rely on.The toughest sanction yet on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, agreed overnight after weeks of wrangling, aims to remove 90% of Russia's crude imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end, senior officials said."The purpose is to stop Russia's aggressive war…

Britain froze the assets of Russia's Gazprombank and Alfa Bank, and the state-run shipping firm Sovcomflot FLOT.MM, in its latest round of sanctions announced on Thursday.They were among 59 individuals and entities added to the sanctions list which has been used to target Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine.Gazprombank is one of main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas.Alfa-Bank is one of Russia's top private lenders, controlled by Mikhail Fridman, who was sanctioned by Britain earlier this month…

Sovcomflot's shares fell below their offer price in their market debut in Moscow on Wednesday after the initial public offering (IPO) of Russia's biggest shipping company was priced at the lower end of its range.Sovcomflot's IPO, the first share offering by a Russian state company since 2013, will allow the government to reduce its stake to 82.8% following the sale of new shares worth about $550 million.The deal was priced at 105 roubles ($1.34) per share, at the lower end of the initial guidance of between 105 roubles and 117 roubles per share…

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot is guiding investors to expect its initial public offering (IPO) to price at the low end of the marketing range, two bookrunners organizing the transaction said on Tuesday.The first big stock market float by a Russian company in a couple of years comes as wider investor sentiment towards Moscow has turned negative after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, protests in Belarus and renewed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.Russian assets…

Sovcomflot plans to raise at least $500 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, Russia’s top shipping company said on Tuesday, in a deal that could value it at roughly $10 billion according to sources.The move by the state-controlled firm comes as Russian airline Aeroflot also plans to raise capital in a secondary public offering (SPO).For Aeroflot, the cash is needed to fight the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.Sovcomflot (SCF) which is raising money to spend on new projects and reduce debt aims to list in early October…

On October 6, 2019, a naming and flag raising ceremony was held in Vladivostok for Sovcomflot’s latest Arctic shuttle tanker. The vessel was named after Mikhail Lazarev, a prominent Russian admiral and explorer known for his discovery of Antarctica. The tanker was ordered by Sovcomflot to transport crude oil for the Novy Port project, under a long-term agreement between Sovcomflot and Gazprom Neft.The ceremony was attended by Oleg Melnikov, Vice-Governor of Primorsky Region and Sergey Frank…

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) continued to increase the share of its fleet serving long-term energy projects over the first quarter ending 31 March 2018. This helped offset the negative impact of the protracted decline in freight rates that continues within the conventional tanker freight markets. Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President and CFO of PAO Sovcomflot, commented on the quarter's results: "In the first quarter of 2018, conditions within the global conventional tanker market remained extremely challenging. The significant imbalance between tonnage supply and demand in the crude oil and petroleum products shipping segments heaped more downward pressure on freight rates, which had reached records lows in some sectors having fallen by almost 50 per cent year-on-year.

Russian aluminum giant Rusal has stopped placing orders with two logistics firms that ship its exports, executives with the firms said on Tuesday, in a sign of deepening problems for the company after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.Rusal and its major shareholder Oleg Deripaska were included on a U.S. sanctions blacklist this month, leading to anxiety among many of its customers, suppliers and creditors who fear they too could be hit by sanctions through association with the company.A number of traders and customers of Rusal's aluminum have stopped buying the firm's products…

The largest bank in Russia Sberbank and shipping company Sovcomflot have signed a new USD 106 million project financing agreement, with a term of up to 14 years. The funds will finance the construction of a high ice class Arctic shuttle tanker (Arc7) for the Novy Port project, under a long-term agreement with Gazprom Neft. This is the third major transaction of its kind between Sberbank and Sovcomflot. The first joint project between the companies was in 2015, to finance the construction of three Arctic shuttle tankers to transport crude oil from the Novy Port field. That agreement set an important precedent for Russian domestic credit institutions, and was named “Deal of the Year” by the international publication Marine Money.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday launched the first loading of liquefied natural gas at the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in the Arctic, which will further expand Russia's global energy reach. The Yamal project, which required investments of $27 billion, will allow Russia to fulfil a plan to double its share of the global LNG market by 2020 from around 4 percent now. The LNG was loaded onto the ice class tanker "Christophe de Margerie", named after the former head of France's energy major Total, who died in a plane crash in Moscow in 2014. Total holds a 20 percent stake in Yamal LNG. "The loadings will be carried out all year round... "Russia can and should get a decent stake in the market," he told the attendees, who included Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih.

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) reported a $6.8 million loss for the first nine months of 2017, citing the adverse impacts of low spot market freight rates in the conventional tanker sectors. “This year has proven to be a very challenging period for the tanker industry and the situation now faced by many conventional tanker ship owners is especially severe,” said Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot. “An oversupply of tonnage and reduced demand, resulting from oil capacity cut-backs led by OPEC…

Despite the turbulent conditions seen in conventional markets, SCF Group has continued to demonstrate resilience whilst remaining able to position itself to take advantage of the future upswing in these markets when it comes. The first half of 2017 was very challenging for global tanker markets, with spot freight rates in all market segments nearing their historic lows. This has impacted severely upon the profitability of those owners focused solely on conventional shipping, said a press statement from SCF Group quoting Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot. “In the first half, the Group continued to implement its strategy and demonstrated its capacity to innovate and break new ground.

Russia plans to sell part of state shipping firm Sovcomflot next month, hoping to draw in a wide range of small-stake investors rather than a strategic buyer who could threaten Moscow's control of the group, banking and industry sources say. The current era of low tanker market prices is far from the ideal time for Sovcomflot to raise revenue with a share offer, as freight rates were at their highs in 2015. Sovcomflot operates the world's second largest fleet of oil tankers. But…

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, the mood of the Russian delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos was distinctly gloomy, with oil prices near 12-year lows below $30 per barrel and Western sanctions depressing their economy and financial markets. Since then, however, Russian stock and bond markets have risen about 50 percent, boosted by rebounding oil and - more recently - expectations the new U.S. presidency of Donald Trump will ease the sanctions imposed over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Russian officials and company executives at the forum attended by the world's political and business elites in the Swiss Alps this week were far more bullish, with many predicting the markets rally would continue this year.

On 23 November 2016, Sovcomflot and Sberbank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) paving the way for a new USD 180 million long-term credit agreement with a term of up to 15 years. On behalf of the parties the MOU was signed by Sergey Frank, Chairman and CEO of Sovcomflot, and Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank. The credit facility agreement, the subject of the MOU, will finance two Panamax Arctic shuttle tankers within Sovcomflot’s fleet (Mikhail Ulyanov, Kirill Lavrov), built at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg and operated under the Prirazlomnoye project. “The memorandum signed by Sovcomflot and Sberbank is a logical continuation of the successful cooperation between us, both companies being leaders in their respective fields.

SCF Group completed a series of financing transactions in the total amount of USD 1.26 billion. The deals include USD 750 million of unsecured public debt and USD 512 million of bank loans raised for purposes of funding the fleet renewal and expansion programme and for the refinancing of maturing debt. The latest in this series were new long-term credit facilities for a total amount of USD 252 million signed in August 2016, with a number of international banks including: Citibank; DVB Bank; ING Bank; Nordea Bank and Unicredit Bank. The funds raised are being used to finance the acquisition of nine ice-class tankers and two multifunctional icebreaking supply vessels as well as for refinancing of the Group’s existing bank debt.

Energy giant Rosneft said on Thursday its trading arm had delivered an inaugural gasoline cargo to the Asia-Pacific, marking what could be Russia's first foray into a region dominated by OPEC producers from the Gulf. The 200,000-barrel cargo, bought by Rosneft from the international market and taken by Indonesian state energy company Pertamina, was delivered on free-on-board (FOB) terms to Malaysia. Rosneft declined to say from which refinery it had received the cargo. It also did not say from or to which ports it was being delivered. The cargo was shipped to Pertamina within a term agreement for the delivery of 1.2 million barrels signed between the companies in June, Rosneft said.

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot has cut the yield on its seven-year U.S. dollar bond to 5.375 percent - 5.5 percent, according to a lead.   The notes will price within that range. The latest level compares with guidance of 5.625 percent area and initial price thoughts of 5.75 percent area.   The benchmark-sized notes are expected to price later today. Citigroup, ING, JP Morgan, Sberbank and VTB Capital are the lead managers.   Sovcomflot is rated Ba1/BB+/BB.     (Reporting by Sudip Roy)

French banks may participate in lending for the Russia's Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a relevant agreement may be signed in 2016, Tass reported quoting Russia's Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev. "As for French banks - we have made very serious progress there, we are very optimistic about it. I do hope [that the agreement on lending will be signed this year]," the minister said. Earlier this year, Russia’s largest independent gas producer Novatek confirmed the volume of capital expenditures for Yamal LNG project in the amount of $27 bln. Yamal LNG is trying to raise more than $10 billion in external financing, mainly from China, for the project, which is only Russia's second LNG plant.

International sanctions have undermined the ability of Russia's Yamal LNG project to raise necessary funds but it will be launched as scheduled, Leonid Mikhelson, head of the plant's main shareholder, said in a televised interview on Tuesday. The company, co-owned by Gennady Timchenko, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2014, soon after the final investment decision had been taken on the Yamal project in late 2013. The punitive measure makes it harder for the company, Novatek, to raise external debt. "Of course, technical difficulties due to sectoral sanctions against Novatek and automatically against Yamal LNG ... there are difficulties with attracting credit financing," Mikhelson told the state-run Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Sovcomflot Group and Sberbank CIB  have signed a 14-year $340 million credit facility agreement to finance the construction of three Arctic shuttle tankers for the Novy Port project  (project operator: Gazprom eft). Novy Port is one of the largest oil and gas condensate deposits on the Yamal peninsula in Russia. The vessels will serve as part of project infrastructure designed to enable year-round shipment of crude oil from an offshore loading terminal in the Gulf of Ob. The commercial production from the field will start in 2016. The transaction involves Sberbank Europe AG, a subsidiary bank of PJSC Sberbank. Commenting on the transaction…

Russia's Yamal LNG liquefied natural gas project is on track and will be profitable even with low oil and gas prices, Sberbank Chief Executive German Gref said on Tuesday.   "This is the most expensive project, (it) will completely change the gas economy of the country," he told President Vladimir Putin. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)

A deal to raise financing for the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in Russia is in its final stages, Chairman of Gazprombank, Andrey Akimov, told Reuters. Gazprombank is a co-lender to Yamal LNG on the Russian side, along with Sberbank. State development bank VEB has pledged $3 billion in banking guarantees to the project. Akimov said that Chinese lenders are set to provide $12 billion, Russian banks $4 billion, and export credit agencies are expected to put up another $4 billion. He said he planned to travel to China in early November for talks on the deal.