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Eastern Europe
November 9, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 18
paintings to factories and real estate. This is the progress now," Lutsenko said.
But Lutsenko added that to recover the specified assets, it is necessary to establish their ultimate beneficiary owner with a document that can be used in a court of law. He noted that “the state- ments of Kroll after the forensic audit have no legal force.”
"The Kroll study showed how some companies used 30-40 accounts in Cyprus and transferred the funds in one day and out the next to bring them to the "third wave" — a kind of offshore
company that acquired certain assets. Now it is known what assets they are and this is similar to money laundering — Article 209 of the Criminal Code. But now the court needs a specific docu- ment certifying who is the beneficiary of this prop- erty. If these are really the ex-owners of Privat- Bank, then we will be able to seize them through the Ukrainian court and the courts of other jurisdictions – there are many countries there, including the United States, Luxembourg,
Austria, Spain, Cyprus," he said reports Interfax.
The PGO is now working on confirming the identity of the beneficiary owners of the assets.
Belarusian supermarket chain Eurotorg postpones its IPO
bne IntelliNews
Leading Belarusian supermarket chain Eurotorg (aka Euroopt) has postponed what would have been the small northern republic’s first ever IPO blaming poor market conditions, the company an- nounced on November 6. Eurotorg was due to be floated on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
“Eurotorg Holding Plc, the largest grocery retailer in Belarus, today announces that it has postponed its planned IPO on the London Stock Exchange, due to current market conditions. Despite significant interest in the business from investors, Eurotorg has decided to pursue its IPO when capital markets conditions become more favourable for emerging markets,” the company said in a press release.
The company has just been to London to road show the IPO and was met with positive sentiment from investors who “noted the company’s equity story and the professionalism of the management team,” as well as the growth prospects for mod- ern retail formats and the company’s e-commerce strategy in the Belarusian grocery retail market, the company said.
Incomes have been rising steadily in Belarus which has been the fastest growing economy
in Eastern Europe, partly lifted by the ongoing economic recovery in Russia, the country’s most important trade partner.
The supermarket business has been a winner and portfolio investors’ favourite in other countries of the region, making the Eurotorg offering very interesting to potential investors. The rising incomes are creat- ing a middle class in Belarus and supermarkets are the first beneficiaries of this development.
“Eurotorg plans to revisit its IPO plans as soon
as market conditions become more conducive to achieving a valuation that reflects the company’s true potential. In the meantime, the company’s strong free cash flows will allow it to continue ex- ecuting on its growth strategy,” the company said.
Previously, the company was in London last July where it raised some $350mn in a bond placement to refinance bank debt and create investment capital for its expansion.