Ministry suggests issuing 266 bln rbl state guarantees to RUSAL

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry has suggested issuing 266 billion rubles of state guarantees to aluminum giant UC RUSAL for its large-scale environmental project, as seen by PRIME in a bill published by the government late on Wednesday.

The sum should cover 70% of the loans or bonds with maturity from 3 to 15 years and the maturity date of no earlier than on January 1, 2026. Large-scale investment projects keep the company’s debt burden high, which makes it difficult for RUSAL to raise cheap financing, the government said.

The upgrades of production facilities should raise competitiveness of Russian aluminum products with high added value and reduce the environmental damage that the company inflicts on the regions where it operates.

In 2021, RUSAL said it planned to rebuild its plants in the cities of Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk, Irkutsk, and Novokuznetsk. The company planned to tear down old plants or upgrade them and build new capacities that will use the most up-to-date and environmentally friendly technology of baked anodes until 2028.

(61.5905 rubles – U.S. $1)

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