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Weekly Lists
April 13, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
bne:Credit PZU to place PLN3bn
bond issue by Q3
Russia mulls $1bn support loan for Belarus
Polish state-controlled insurer PZU will launch a PLN3bn (€710mn) bond issue later this year to improve its capital ratios, the company said on April 12.
The decision follows hints from the company in March that a debt issue was needed in order to prevent the company’s solvency ratio from falling too sharply after the takeover of Pekao in December. The insurance giant is leading a push by the state to raise its owneship in the banking sector.
The issue will consist of subordinate bonds to be placed either on the domestic or international market. PZU plans to launch the issue late in the second quarter or at the beginning of the third, which is when the Pekao acquisition is expected to be completed.
The Russian authorities could provide Belarus with a $1bn support loan, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists in Moscow on April 11, Russian media reported.
The issue of the loan, which should be aimed at supporting Bela- rus’ balance of payments, was discussed by the presidents of Rus- sia and Belarus in Saint Petersburg on April 3. At the meeting the sides said the months-long dispute over gas, oil supplies to Bela- rus would be resolved within ten days.
On April 4, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vasiliy Matushevskiy said that Russia had agreed to allow Belarus to refinance up to $750mn- 800mn worth of its debt due this year. The agreement was reached during the meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, he added. Moscow did not comment this statement.
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Croatia’s struggling retailer and food giant Agrokor’s corporate family rating to ‘Caa2’ from ‘Caa1’, with negative outlook, the rating agency said on April 11 in an e-mailed statement.
Agrokor was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service on March 28 to ‘Caa1’ from ‘B3’. On April 5, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Croa- tia’s struggling retail giant Agrokor’s long-term corporate ratings to ‘CC’, one notch above ‘SD’ (Selective Default), with negative outlook.
“Our decision to downgrade Agrokor’s rating reflects its filing for restruc- turing under Croatian law, which in our view makes a default highly likely,” Vincent Gusdorf, a vice president at Moody’s, said on April 11. The rating action also took into account uncertainties around the restructuring pro- cess, as creditors’ ability to get their money back hinges on numerous factors that will become apparent over time, according to Gusdorf.
Moody’s downgrades Agrokor for second time in two weeks with negative outlook