VTB Bank ready to lend to QIA for purchase of Rosneft stake

MOSCOW, May 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s second biggest lender VTB Bank is ready to provide a loan to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to purchase a stake in oil major Rosneft under a deal with Swiss commodity trader Glencore, the bank’s CEO Andrei Kostin told PRIME on Monday.

“We are overall ready to provide the fund with money, we are always ready to lend,” Kostin said.

The consortium of Glencore and the DIA, which bought 19.5% in Rosneft in 2016, announced a sale of 14.16% of the stake to China’s CEFC in 2017. But on May 4, the consortium notified CEFC of termination of an agreement to sell the stake. The companies also decided to dissolve the consortium to move to direct shareholding, the QIA will hold 18.93% in Rosneft and Glencore will own 0.57%.

Kostin also said that VTB Bank had closed a 5 billion euro credit line issued to CEFC for purchasing 14.16% in Rosneft. “We have closed it,” he said.

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