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    bne February 2021 Companies & Markets I 13
  loan to Kosovo to ensure the continuation of vital services,
a €50mn senior loan to EPCG to support the stability of energy provision in Montenegro and an €85mn loan for Serbia
to finance the construction of a new section of the “Peace Highway” to Kosovo.
Further east, major EBRD investments included a €450mn loan to Ukrainian state road agency Ukravtodor, supporting the government in the development of national road infrastructure and the fight against corruption.
It funded over $400mn worth of investments in the energy sector in the South Caucasus, including Armenia’s first renewable project Masrik Solar.
Its biggest infrastructure project outside the oil and gas sector in Central Asia was the Almaty ring road, for
Russian government to sell First Channel TV broadcaster, but will keep golden share
bne IntelliNews
The Russian government will sell control in Channel One, but will retain the right to verify investors and a "golden share," The Bell reported on December 23.
The state will give up a controlling stake in Channel One, Russia’s biggest broadcaster and the main source of news for the bulk of the population.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the additional issue of his shares on December 21, which will be sold to non-state shareholders.
The stated purpose of the additional issue is the financial recovery of the channel, which has been in deep loss for at least 8 years, and its debts exceed RUB20bn ($265mn).
VTB is already claiming the role of the new investor. Now the largest non-state co-owner of the channel is Yuri Kovalchuk's National Media Group.
The share of the Russian Federation in JSC Channel One may be reduced to 34% by selling the additional issue of the channel's shares to non-state investors from the current controlling stake it owns.
which the EBRD arranged a $585mn syndicated loan. In neighbouring Uzbekistan, the EBRD financed one of the first privately owned renewable energy projects, a 100 MW solar photovoltaic plant in the Navoi region.
The priority for the bank in Turkey was the provision of support to the real economy through engagement with local partner banks, to which it channelled a record €893mn, supporting thousands of businesses. It also provided both infrastructure support and funds for renewables in the energy sector.
The newer EBRD members in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region were badly hit by the pandemic. The bank’s response included the provision of €784mn in liquidity lines to local banks for on-lending to businesses in Egypt.
The state will retain the "golden share" of Channel One, which will allow it to control the adoption of important decisions – for example, the sale of large stakes to new shareholders.
Channel One has been unprofitable since 2012. In 2019, it recorded a net loss of RUB4.1bn with RUB27bn of revenue. The channel's accounts payable at the end of 2019 amounted to RUB20.4bn.
The channel's contractors systematically complain about non-payments, and the Ostankino television centre filed
a lawsuit against them in 2018, and in 2019 announced that it was cutting employees because of Channel One's debts, and warned of possible disruptions to television broadcasting.
The financial situation of Channel One last year was analysed in detail by Meduza. Sources of the publication explained
the losses by a drop in advertising revenues after 2014, lost
to competition on the internet, in which the channel began
to invest too late, and the ambitions of Konstantin Ernst, who has headed the channel for 20 years, who was “always more interested in creativity than money”.
At the same time, in recent years the channel has received less government support than all other government channels.
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