Russia’s VTB CEO sees Mechel debt problem settled soon

MOSCOW, Mar 16 (PRIME) -- The debt problem of Russian metals and mining company Mechel is nearly settled, CEO Andrei Kostin told reporters Wednesday.

“I believe that Mechel’s problem is close to being settled. There are still some issues there… There are three banks, which look at each other so that everything is fair,” he said.

Kostin said that money that Gazprombank will pay for a stake in Mechel’s Elga coal deposit project will be partially used to repay debts to Sberbank, while Sberbank will restructure the reminder.

In February, Igor Zyuzin, chairman of Mechel’s board of directors, said the company had reached debt restructuring deals with all the largest creditors – Sberbank, VTB Bank and Gazprombank. The total volume of debt that will be restructured amounts to U.S. $5.132 billion, End