Page 111 - RusRPTJun19

exporters except Belarus, which is currently building a new nuclear power plant that will make it an exporter as well.
The Russian government has adopted a support scheme for bonds issued to finance investment in renewable and environmentally friendly technologies or so-called "green bonds", as part of the national project Ecology, Kommersant business daily reported on May 7. Companies issuing the bonds and meeting a number of localisation criteria would be able to get from 70% to 90% of the coupon payments on the bonds rebated by the state. A total of RUB9.3bn ($142mn) is granted for the programme by 2021, with the bond placements to be capped at RUB30bn. As detailed by bne IntelliNews, in the planned Russian state infrastructure spending drive RUB701.2bn will be allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of the National Ecology Project, with another RUB133.8bn from the regional budgets. Another RUB3.2 trillion is supposed to be raised from investors for the Ecology programme. Under the Ecology project, from 2019 to 2024 almost 7,000 complex ecologic approvals (KERs) will be issued to all industrial objects having a considerable negative environmental impact. The KERs would include a monitoring system that could be used for assessments of green bonds placements as well. First green bonds in Russia worth RUB1.1bn were issued in December 2018 by Resursosberezhenie HMAO on Moscow Exchange and are used to finance a household waste recycling facility in the Nefteyugansk region. The main objectives of the Ecology national project is the elimination of unauthorised landfills within cities, reducing air pollution in large industrial centres, improving the quality of drinking water, and ecological rehabilitation of water bodies, including the Volga, Lake Baikal and Teletskoye. Of the 12 federal projects included in the Ecology national project, the implementation of the best available technologies (RUB2.4 trillion) is the most expensive.
Russia government commission headed by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak approved a number of thermal power plants for state- sponsored modernisation, Vedomosti daily reported on May 30 citing unnamed sources. Supported by high dividend yields, utility shares are the fastest growing on Russian equity market. Utilities universe is likely to get another boost on anticipation of massive state investment in modernisation of generation capacities. Reportedly, for 2022-2024 RUB63.5bn ($1bn) will be invested in thermal power plants alone, targeting to modernise 1.78GW of generation capacities. Among the companies chosen in this round are T Plus, GazpromEnergoHolding, Lukoil, Tatneft, Enel Russia, Kvadra, SUEK, TGK-1, and En+.
9.1.12 Transport sector news
April showed a decrease in volumes, with 107mnt (-2% y/y) of cargos transported across the rail network and the gondola segment losing 1% y/y.
However, leasing rates stood at their historical maximum for the fifth month in a row, while oil tank rates grew steadily
Coal. Coal volumes were 1% lower y/y. VTBC believes this might be a precursor to a rates decrease after their hesitation at the highs. With the February news about a ban on Australian coal imports at China’s largest port, Dalian, and the cap on overall imports in 2019, the redirection to the weak
111 RUSSIA Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com