The number of applicants for debt repayment may turn out to be less than the Finance Ministry is preparing for. (In the photo: Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin)
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
The USSR Will Be Debt-Free Soon
The Russian Finance Ministry announced the final date yesterday for applications to exchange the commercial debt of the former USSR for Russian Federation Eurobonds. That deadline is 6:00 p.m. October 15, 2008. This concerns the final tranche of Soviet commercial debt of about $600 million. The final adjustments are also being made to the debt on commodities deliveries to Soviet foreign economic organizations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Russia has $1.5 billion in Soviet debt to repay to the Paris Club and $40 billion in Russian debt.
The greater part of the debt run up at the end of the Soviet era by Soviet state companies for deliveries of goods was exchanged for Russian bonds in 2002 and 2006. In 2002, $1.28 billion in debt was thus repaid, and $1.075 billion in 2006. The bonds have maturity dates of 2010 and 2030. The bonds issued now will have the same due dates.
The number of applicants for debt repayment may turn out to be less than the Finance Ministry is preparing for. The ministry has noted that a major problem with repayment of the Soviet debt is that a number of the suppliers to the Soviet Union are themselves not currently active. If they do not file for repayment by the deadline, a loophole remains open for them. Those that made supply contracts with the participation of Vneshekonombank can still demand payment from the bank.
Debt reduction was one of the goals Vladimir Putin set for the Russian government when he became president in 2000. In eight years, the Russian state debt was reduced from $155 billion to $41 billion. Only $1.5 billion remains in Soviet debt to the Paris Club of creditors. Russia’s largest debt is $4.7 billion to the World Bank.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 16, 2008
|
|
|
