Page 9 - BNE_magazine_03_2020 wellness

bne March 2020 The Month That Was I 9
Finance
Eastern Europe
Russia’s second-largest bank state- controlled VTB will stick to its commitment to pay 50% of IFRS net profit for 2019, but could split the payout in two tranches to ease capital pressures, Reuters and Vedomosti daily reported on February 25 citing the board member Dmitry Pyanov.
Ukraine’s national gas company Naftogaz has held possible IPO talks with international investment banks and potential investors, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev said on February 17.
The Belarusian ruble (BYN) fell to
an all-time low against the US dollar during February 21's trading session at the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE) on the back of the energy row with Russia. Belarus' trade deficit in goods grew to $4.1bn in 2019 from $2.5bn in 2018, according to the National Bank of Belarus (NBB). And Belarus' GDP shrank by 1.9% year-on-year in January.
Central Europe
Hungary has so far drawn down €239mn of a €10bn loan from the state of Russia for an upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant. Hungary’s finance ministry Andras Tallai said that the "bulk" of that money has already been repaid. This effectively means that Hungary has taken out a loan
with better conditions to refinance the Russian credit.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested
PLN200mn (€47mn) in a green
bond issuance by the Warsaw-listed media and communications company Cyfrowy Polsat, which is raising a total of PLN1bn to refinance its investments in energy efficiency.
Coronavirus fears caused the Prague Stock Exchange to experience its the most significant daily slump since the Brexit referendum in June 2016. The PX Index weakened by 2.81% to 1,058.69 points, to its lowest value since the end of October 2019, due to coronavirus concerns, Patria reported on February 25.
China Construction Bank, the world's second-biggest bank by assets, will open a branch in Hungary, the central bank, MNB, announced on February 21. As a result, three of the largest lenders globally will have a base in Hungary.
Slovenia's largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) is the selected buyer for Serbia’s second- largest bank Komercijalna Banka, the Serbian news outlet Blic reported on February 25 quoting unnamed government sources. NLB is one of three candidates that filed binding bids in the privatisation tender.
Southeast Europe
Total net portfolio outflows from Turkey amounted to $2.6bn since December 20, according to the latest data from the central bank, as Turkey faces yet another currency crisis and seen net portfolio outflows for eight consecutive weeks as a result.
Romania’s banking system reported a net profit of about RON6.4bn (€1.35bn) in 2019, down 7.2% compared to 2018 but still close to
an all time high set before the 2008 credit crunch. Romanian banks’ assets climbed by 9.8% to RON495.3bn (€103.6bn).
eMag, the largest online retailer in Romania, controlled by South African group Naspers’ subsidiary Prosus, wants to list its shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) as well as on a foreign stock exchange as well “to demonstrate its unicorn status”, according to Bloomberg quoted by local media.
Eurasia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is making its first equity investment in Uzbekistan in
a decade. The development bank has agreed to invest $40mn in Singapore- incorporated company Anglesey Investments, which owns FE Anglesey Food, the operator of 50 ‘korzinka. uz’ and ‘korzinka.uz DISKONT’- branded stores across Uzbekistan.
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