Page 9 - bne_Magazine_March_2018

bne March 2018 The Month That Was I 9
Finance
Eastern Europe
The market capitalisation of Russian retailer Magnit in London recovered from a recent beating and again nar- rowly overtook that of rival X5 Retail Group to regain its title as most valuable retailer in Russia. The shares tumbled after founder and largest shareholder Sergei Galitsky said he would sell his shares to state-owned VTB Bank.
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has proposed creating a cryptocurrency for the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as for the EEU (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia).
In January 2018 Sberbank Private Banking registered a three-fold spike in capital inflow into Russia amid the expectations of tightening of the US sanc- tions at the end of January following the release of the so called Kremlin List.
Russia's insurer Rosgosstrakh saw underwritten premiums drop by over a third (36.5%) year-on-year to RUB79.4bn ($1.4bn) in 2017, while paying out RUB84bn in compensations, making it the worst year on record, the company said.
Lviv Tobacco Factory, Ukraine’s only cigarette producer, is preparing to undergo an international standard audit with an eye to an IPO in 2019. The company has about 9% share of a market that is gradually shrinking due to a new 29% tax on cigarettes.
Ukraine's mobile operator Kyivstar will spend UAH2.2bn ($82mn) on paying dividends for 2011, 2015 and 2016, according to the company has reported in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market.
Ukraine’s Privatbank, nationalised in December 2016, reported UAH23bn ($859mn) of losses in 2017, accord- ing to the National Bank of Ukraine. But
PrivatBank's assets increased by 21% year-on-year in 2017 to UAH259bn.
Belarus tapped the international debt market on February 21 for the first time this year with a new $600mn issue of a 12-year Euro- bond with 6.2% coupon follow-
ing January's drop in the nation's foreign exchange reserves by $838mn, or 11.5% month-on-month, to $6.477bn.
Central Europe
Opus Global, the company controlled by Prime Minister Victor Orban’s
friend Lorinc Meszaros, has announced the private issuance of shares to acquire assets from the tycoon’s other companies in construction and energy, which will boost the market value of Opus to HUF75bn.
Fitch Ratings affirmed Lithuania at 'A-' with a stable outlook. The rationale for the rating is based on the Baltic state’s prudent fiscal management, institutional strengths and a credible policy frame- work that come with EU and eurozone membership, the ratings agency said.
Southeast Europe
The IMF disbursed the long-delayed second tranche of its loan to Bosnia. The fund disbursed €74.55mn after its three-year loan deal was unfrozen when Sarajevo finally made progress with promised reforms.
A capital increase was initiated at Romania’s postal services company Posta Romana after the government gave the go-ahead. The capital increase has been questioned by minority shareholder Fondul Proprietatea since
it is largely aimed at covering the debts accumulated by the company to the state budget under uncertain circumstances.
Serbia successfully completed its three-year IMF programme.
The €1.2bn three-year precautionary stand-by arrangement was an important driver of Serbia’s economic progress and the thorny issue of public finances stabilisation.
Eurasia
Armenia will borrow $360mn in 2018 in order to finance its budget deficit, Finance Minister Vartan Aramian said. The official emphasised the fact that the sum is markedly lower compared
to the level of borrowing in past years, which stood at $863.5mn in 2016 and $832.5mn in 2017.
Kazakhstan will allocate around $60mn for the development of the recently launched Astana Interna- tional Financial Centre (AIFC) over the next three years. The AIFC is a financial services hub to be run as a free economic zone modelled on Dubai’s International Financial Centre.
Iranian police clamped down on illegal forex traders. Police descended on the informal bazaar of money chang- ers in Tehran, physically rounding up 90 men and forcing them against the walls of the British Embassy compound adjacent to the square.
TBC Bank, Georgia's largest lender, posted a 35.1% y/y gain in underlying net profit to GEL369.2mn (€121.5mn) in 2017. The bank's stock, listed on the London Stock Exchange, delivered an underlying return on equity of 21.4%.
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