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Weekly Lists
March 23, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 28
bne:Credit Agrokor inks deal
with largest creditor Sberbank
Serbia negotiating $400mn credit from Turkey to develop infrastructure
Troubled Croatian food and retail chain Agrokor said it has signed
a deal with Sberbank, setting out steps that will resolve debt issues and put an end to litigation proceedings.
Agrokor is currently undergoing restructuring after a debt crisis pushed it to the brink of collapse in spring 2017. In November, Agrokor accepted creditor claims worth HRK41.2bn (€5.4bn) but disputed other claims worth a total of HRK16.5bn. The claims of Agrokor’s biggest creditor, Sberbank are among those in dispute because the Russian lender has launched legal proceedings against Agrokor companies in other countries. Agrokor owes Sberbank around €1.1bn.
Serbia is negotiating a $400mn loan from Turkey's Exim Bank to develop infrastructure it needs to promote investment and growth, Serbian trade minister Rasim Ljajic said on March 21.
After talks with Turkey's deputy prime minister Fikri Isik in Bel- grade, Ljajic said Turkey's Exim Bank had allocated a $400mn credit for various infrastructure projects. Isik said Turkish com- panies are eager to contribute to major infrastructure projects in Serbia and the wider region, including a highway between Belgrade and Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
"We are still negotiating conditions for the use of these funds... [I’m hoping] these conditions will be favourable for us," Ljajic told a press briefing.
The Ukrainian finance ministry's weekly local bond placement held on March 20 raised UAH6.4bn, almost six times the UAH1.1bn at- tracted last week. The placement of two-year euro-denominated bonds for €123.3mn brought in around 60% of all auction receipts.
“The auction results indicate a significant revival on the primary bond market after a dull picture from the five previous weekly auc- tions with receipts of UAH1.0bn-UAH1.5bn each. Nevertheless, bidders remain risk averse, preferring UAH-denominated bonds with maturity of up to one year and FCY-denominated bonds (when offered),” Evgeniya Akhtyrko of Concorde Capital said in a note.
“The government had to agree to higher interest rates on local Eurobonds given the high foreign currency payments during March,” Akhtyrko added.
Ukraine’s local bond placement receipts surge nearly six-fold on high demand