RUSSIA: Russian Nuclear Company to Issue Bonds



Atomstroiexport is presenting a bond issue on Thursday, the first one in the Russian nuclear industry. The company has also announced plans to build nuclear power stations not only abroad but also in Russia in a partnership with Gazprom-affiliated Stroitransgaz.

Atomstroiexport’s bonds, which are to be floated at the MICEX, mature in four years with an option of an early redemption of two years. The bonded debt is worth 1.5 billion rubles. The company plans to use the raised funds to buy equipment for the construction of a nuclear plant in Bulgaria. Atomstroiexport has become the first Russian nuclear firm to issue bonds.

Shortly before the offering, Atomstoriexport has announced cooperation deals with Stroitransgaz and Inter RAO UES. Partnership with Stroitransgaz, the largest oil and gas infrastructure contractor in Russia, aims to help Atomstroiexport to claim a share on the domestic market of nuclear facilities construction. The deal with Inter RAO UES will ensure that the company will have a partner to sell electric power from its nuclear plants.



As Gazprom and its subsidiaries have already moved into nuclear power business, cooperation between Atomstroiexport and Stroitransgaz, where Gazprom holds 50 percent, would follow the trend of rapprochement between the gas and nuclear monopolies.