Kievenergo Wants To Improve Payment Collection

Kievenergo (KIEN: HOLD) warned that it may have problems supplying electricity and heat supply in Kiev due to low payment discipline. At the moment, KIEN’s debtors are housing organizations, which owe USD 150 mln, and Kievvodokanal, the water and sewage company with a debt of  USD 35.6 mln. As a result of the low payment discipline, KIEN cannot fully pay its gas supplier, Kievtransgas. That latter has limited supplies of gas to KIEN since August 4, 2005. Concorde Capital: Payment discipline in Kiev worsened last year, so that KIEN has accumulated accounts receivable (USD 216 mln as of March 31, 2005), most of which is classified as bad debt. As for Kievvodokanal, the situation is different as KIEN owes to this company for water, while Kievvodokanal rarely pays KIEN for its electricity.