Gazprombank to issue second tranche of eurobonds by middle of 2002

Gazprombank is planning to issue the second tranche of five-year eurobonds in the amount of EUR200 million by the middle of 2002, Yury Lvov, the bank's President and Chairman of the Executive Board said at a meeting with bank's clients.

Later on at a briefing for journalists Deputy Chairman of the bank's Executive Board Alexander Sobol said that all the needed decisions about the second tranche of Gazprombank's eurobonds had been made, including the approval of the second tranche by the annual general shareholders' meeting that took place on June 7, 2002. The most probable time of issuing the second tranche of the new eurobonds is July-September 2002. The time during which Gazprombank will be placing its eurobonds will depend on when Gazprom, the owner of the bank, will decide to make a second issue of eurobonds. Sobol was quoted as saying that it was not clear so far, which issue - Gazprombank's or Gazprom's - will be made first, but one should be made at least three months after another.

The scheme of the second tranche of Gazprombank's eurobonds will be similar to the fist one: the bank's eurobonds will be attracted by the bank's subsidiary in Holland, and the bank will provide a 100 percent guarantee of the issue. The lead manager of the second tranche of Gazprombank's eurobonds will be Deutsche Bank, while its co-organizers - ABN Amro and Paribas.

According to Sobol, the bank will seek to sustain the rate of return of its eurobonds at the level of the five-year Gazprom's eurobonds that were issued in the amount of $500 million - 9.125 percent annually. On the other hand, the Chairman of the bank's Executive Board did not rule out the possibility that the market would "ask" for some premium to that rate of return, which will turn out to be higher for Gazprom.

The President of the bank reiterated that the first tranche of Gazprombank's eurobonds in the amount of EUR200 million had been issued in December 2001. The redemption time of the issue is two years, while the rate of return is less than 10 percent annually. The funds attracted with the help of this bind issue were used to provide credit resources for Gazprom. Deputy Chairman of the bank's Executive Board was quoted as saying that the first eurobond issue of Gazprombank was placed among 43 investors, mainly from Germany, Great Britain and Italy. As the head of Gazprombank stressed, this eurobond issue was the first entry of a Russian bank onto the international debt market after the financial meltdown that took place in 1998.

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