Sberbank claims USD 59 mln debt from Ukrzaliznytsia
20 January 2017
The Ukrainian subsidiary of Russian Sberbank filed a lawsuit demanding that Ukrainian railway monopoly Ukrzaliznytsia (RAILUA) repay USD 58.7 mln in debt, the Ukrainian News agency reported, citing court documents. The Kyiv Economic Court refused in late December to consider Sberbank’s claim, explaining that the bank did not provide the necessary set of documents, according to the source.
Recall, Ukrzaliznytsia reported in early December that it reached agreement on banking debt restructuring only on 39% of its total USD 918 mln in loans. The company agreed with bondholders that it will settle all its issues with banking lenders (except lenders of Donetska Railway) by the end of 2017.
Alexander Paraschiy: From the news report and court documents, it’s not clear whether Sberbank’s claim is about loans provided to Donetska Railway (a subsidiary whose debt is not going to be serviced by Ukrzaliznytsia unless it regains control of its assets on the occupied territory) or other subsidiaries of the railway monopoly. In any case, this shows that talks with banks are not going smoothly, and Ukrzaliznytsia may need even more time than the additional year to reach agreement with all its creditors. We retain our neutral position on RAILUA notes.
