Moody’s: Rosneft’s $49 bln request may hurt Russian economy

MOSCOW, Oct 23 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Rosneft’s request to allocate it 2 trillion rubles (about U.S. $49 billion) from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) will increase risks for the country’s economy and its rating, international rating agency Moody’s Vice President Thorsten Nestmann said at a news conference Thursday.

“But $49 billion is a very large amount. The NWF currently amounts to about $80 billion. So, $49 billion for one company? What will be left for the rest of the country? It means, the risks for the Russian economy and rating are increasing,” Nestmann said.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Rosneft asked for more than 2 trillion rubles of subsidies from the NWF, while Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the ministry had approved requests from Rosneft and Novatek and transferred them to the Economic Development Ministry for consideration.

Rosneft has suggested that the Wealth Fund purchase 1.5 trillion rubles of new Rosneft bonds, the figure being equal to the company’s net debt, following the imposition of U.S. sanctions on the company.

The National Wealth Fund amounted to 3.277 trillion rubles as of October 1. The government has the right to invest up to 60% of the money into key projects of largest companies.

(40.9671 rubles – U.S. $1)

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