Russia

Sovcomflot, the shipping company majority-owned by the Russian state, is planning to enter the debt capital markets. But the dollar bond mandate comes at a tricky time as military escalation between Russia and Ukraine has caused investor confidence of assets on both sides to fall.

Segezha, the Russian paper and pulp company, has filed initial paperwork for an IPO on the Moscow stock exchange. The company is hopeful of becoming the first listed Russian company in its sector, but IPO market turbulence and sanctions fears hang over the offering.

Mobile TeleSystems, Russia’s largest mobile operator, has sold a social bond in roubles, as it became the latest major Russian corporate to foray into ESG financing. The issuer has not ruled out a return to international markets, although in recent years it has pivoted towards domestic funding.

Nordgold, the Russia-headquartered gold mining company, has become the latest borrower from the country to enter the green financing market after it raised an ESG-linked syndicated loan.

Fix Price, the Russian discount retailer, became a public company at the beginning of March in a $1.9bn IPO on the London Stock Exchange. Its CFO Anton Makhnev sat down with GlobalCapital to discuss the deal.

GV Gold, the Russian gold miner, has postponed its listing on the Moscow Stock Exchange as a difficult IPO market and falling prices in the precious metal force the company to rethink its plans.

Russian borrowers are swarming the loan market despite a broader decline in emerging market loan volumes. Borrowers are pushing for tighter margins and longer tenors, as they grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and fresh US sanction threats.

Segezha Group, the Russian paper and pulp company, is exploring a number of capital markets options to help finance growth. These include a green bond and a potential IPO, Rovshan Aliyev, vice-president of finance, tells GlobalCapital.

A wave of central bank rate hikes across emerging markets over the last week, particularly in CEEMEA, has stimulated investor confidence amid a volatile period in global markets. The recent rise in US Treasury yields had threatened to pull money away from EM, with a further risk of weakening local currencies.

Russian Railways ventured into the Swiss franc market this week to sell the first hybrid corporate bond in over two years, a sign of a maturing Swissie market, according to local market participants.

Russian hypermarket and grocery store chain Lenta is considering a share sale to boost the freefloat of its stock and raise capital to finance acquisitions.

GV Gold, the Russian gold miner, has launched an IPO on the Moscow stock exchange with sources close to the deal saying that 2021 is an opportune time for the miner to go public.