UPDATE: Russia’s Mechel says repaid 800 mln rbl debt to Sberbank

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MOSCOW, Jul 16 (PRIME) -- Russian debt-ridden metals and mining company Mechel has repaid over 800 million rubles of a 3.9 billion ruble debt to the country’s top lender Sberbank, Mechel’s representative said Thursday in the Moscow Arbitration Court.

Sberbank’s representative said he can’t yet confirm the payments.

Two liabilities worth 50.5 million rubles and 36.7 million rubles on the debt of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant have been redeemed, a representative of Mechel-Service said in court.

Sberbank plans to increase the amount of its claims against Mechel, the bank’s lawyer said in court without specifying the amount.

As of June 15, Mechel’s debt stood at U.S. $6.772 billion. The company said earlier it owed around $2.3 billion to Gazprombank, $1.8 billion to VTB Bank, and $1.3 billion to Sberbank. The company said recently it reached debt restructuring agreements with two of its main creditors, Gazprombank and VTB Bank, and is continuing talks with Sberbank.

(56.6642 rubles – U.S. $1)

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