RUSSIA: Siemens, Rosneft and Gazprom

Siemens in Atomic Venture

German engineering conglomerate Siemens signed an agreement Tuesday with Russia to help the country boost nuclear power generation.

The Federal Atomic Energy Agency said its chief, Sergei Kiriyenko, had signed the memorandum in Moscow with Rudi Lamprecht, a member of Siemens' managing board.

The agency said Siemens would help Russia boost nuclear power generation capacity at home and abroad and to reconstruct reactors. (Reuters)



Rosneft May Issue Bond

Rosneft is considering a convertible offering as it looks to issue $2 billion in eurobonds by the end of this year, vice-president for finance and investments Peter O'Brien said Tuesday.

"We are looking at different refinancing options and do not rule out a $2 billion eurobond issue … a convertible bond is one possible option," O'Brien said. (Reuters)


E.On, Gazprom Project

E.On, Germany's largest utility, and Gazprom may build natural gas-fired power stations together in Germany, Hungary or Britain, E.On CEO Wulf Bernotat said Tuesday

The companies are currently in talks about possible cooperation, Bernotat said. (Bloomberg)


Gazprombank Plans Bonds

Gazprombank, the country's No. 3 bank, plans to issue ruble bonds worth a combined 40 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) at the end of November at a yield of 7.0 to 7.5 percent to a one-year put option, a market source said Tuesday.

Gazprombank, a banking arm of gas export monopoly Gazprom, will issue the bonds in two tranches, the source said. (Reuters)


Gazprom Stake Not for Sale

The government "has no plans" to reduce its majority stake in Gazprom, nor does it intend to break up the gas export monopoly, Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said Tuesday.

Khristenko, speaking at a news conference in Rome, was responding to Italian media speculation that oil company Eni might buy into Gazprom. (Reuters)


TGK-12 Starts Share Sale to Raise $350M

Regional power producer TGK-12 has launched its secondary offering of shares in Moscow through which it intends to raise 8.6 billion rubles ($350 million), a company source said Tuesday.

The sale will be priced and completed in the first five days of December, the source said.

For the next 20 days, TGK-12's existing shareholders will be able to use their pre-emptive rights to buy more of the stock.

The source said new investors would then be able to buy the remaining shares, which should account for at least 49 million shares, or about 7 percent of the firm's expanded capital.

A total of 100 million shares is being placed, accounting for 14.16 percent of the firm's capital after the sale and 16.5 percent before.

The shares will not be sold directly on Russian stock exchanges but through an open tender at which potential investors will be able to bid, the source said.

Siberian Coal and Energy Company, known as SUEK, already owns 44 percent of TGK-12, also known as Kuzbassenergo, and it plans to maintain this stake by using its pre-emptive rights.

TGK-12's parent company, state-owned utility Unified Energy System, which owns 49 percent of the company, will sell the government's 22 percent stake in TGK-12 in the first half of next year.

UES intends for the rest of the issue to go to a diverse range of investors, the source said.

"If UES does not use its pre-emptive rights to more shares, then a broad circle of investors will be able to buy at least 49 million shares of Kuzbassenergo," the company source said.

TGK-12 serves the coal-mining region of southern Siberia, a strategic part of the country for SUEK, whose mining operations are electricity intensive.


RusHydro Capacity to Soar

Hydro OGK plans to invest more than 1.6 trillion rubles ($70 billion) by 2020 in order to double capacity, the company's head of strategy Yevgeny Miroshnichenko said, Vedomosti reported Tuesday.

Hydro OGK wants to operate 45,900 megawatts of installed capacity, surpassing the 31,000 megawatts held by the world's current leader in hydropower, Hydro-Quebec, the paper reported. (Bloomberg)