MOSCOW, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russian developer Samolet, which last month requested government subsidies worth 50 billion roubles ($653 million) to deal with its debt burden, said on Tuesday it had
Russian Developer Samolet Secures Refinancing Amid Debt Challenges
MOSCOW, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russian developer Samolet, which last month requested government subsidies worth 50 billion roubles ($653 million) to deal with its debt burden, said on Tuesday it had agreed a refinancing programme with commercial banks instead.
A combination of an economic slowdown, the termination of subsidised mortgage programmes, and high interest rates has hit the Russian construction and real estate sectors hard, sending debt levels soaring.
Samolet's Financial Struggles and Debt
Samolet, one of the country's largest developers, had 703 billion roubles ($9.2 billion) in debt by the end of the first half of last year, according to the latest available data.
Samolet said in a statement to Reuters that after analysing its financials and the measures the company has taken to reduce its debt burden, the finance ministry did not see any financial instability risks.
"The company is satisfied with the constructive dialogue and the decisions made, and continues its work," Samolet said.
Government's Stance on Financial Aid
The finance ministry in its statement did not mention any form of state aid for Samolet and recommended the company to continue its work with the banks, as well as to take measures to maintain financial stability.
"As a result of joint negotiations with major banks, a number of tools and measures were developed that will allow the Samolet group to reduce the current interest burden and refinance part of the corporate debt for more effective navigation through the period of tight monetary policy," the company added.
($1 = 76.6000 roubles)
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(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya. Writing by Gleb Bryanski. Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter)
