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Presented by: VTB Bank, Custody

August 02, 2018 Issue No. 2018/28

Politics

VEB ex-CEO Gorkov appointed deputy economy minister On July 27, 2018 it was reported that Sergei Gorkov, former CEO of Russia’s state-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB), had been appointed deputy economic development minister.

Company News

Moscow Arbitration Court cancels bankruptcy case against FESCO On July 30, 2018 the Arbitration Court cancelled a bankruptcy case against the parent company of Far-Eastern Shipping Company, or FESCO. The case was initiated by company Arsagera. At the previous hearing of the case, FESCO pled for its cancellation citing a law on special bankruptcy proceedings for the company as a natural transportation monopoly.

Samolet Group plans USD 250 mln IPO on On July 31, 2018 it was reported that Russian real estate developer Samolet Group of Companies was considering an up to USD 250 mln initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange. The company has hired JP Morgan Chase & Co and Russia’s VTB Capital to organize an IPO in October-December. Samolet Group’s shareholders approved an IPO on July 30. CEO and co-owner Igor Yevtushevsky confirmed that the company was considering options to raise funds including an IPO.

VEON holders choose 3 new members on board of directors On July 31, 2018 shareholders of Amsterdam-headquartered VEON, the sole owner of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, elected three new members of the board of directors. The new members are Guillaume Bacuvier, Osama Bedier, and Robert Jan van de Kraats. The eight previously serving directors on the board are Ursula Burns, Mikhail Fridman, Gennady Gazin, Gunnar Holt, Andrei Gusev, Julian Horn- Smith, Guy Laurence, and Alexander Pertsovsky. Shareholders also approved the reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V. as VEON’s independent auditor, and the adoption of newly Amended and Restated Bye-laws, which simplify the company’s internal governance structure by removing the concept of a two-tiered supervisory board and management board and renaming VEON’s former supervisory board as the company’s board of directors. LetterOne of Russian tycoon Fridman, a board member, has 47.9% of VEON’s common and voting shares, and Norwegian telecom company Telenor owns 14.6%.

FGC UES cuts stake in Inter RAO to 9.24% from 12.24% On August 1, 2018 Russia’s Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) lowered its stake in power holding Inter RAO to 9.24% from 12.24%. In late June, FGC UES’ board of directors approved selling 10% of its 18.57% stake in Inter RAO to companies of Inter RAO and DVB-Leasing. Inter RAO said then it purchased 7% of own shares for RUB 24.5 bln. Of the total, Inter RAO Capital purchased 6.33% and Praktika acquired 0.67%. In early July, Inter RAO acquired 4.9% own shares from hydropower giant RusHydro for RUB 17.2 bln. A spokesperson for Inter RAO stated that the company did not acquire further stakes.

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Bank Saint Petersburg may buy back USD 10 mln of shares On August 1, 2018 Konstantin Balandin, Deputy CEO, said that the supervisory committee of Bank Saint Petersburg, the biggest bank in Russia’s northwest, would consider on August 2 buying back USD 10 mln worth of shares. In April, Balandin said that the bank’s free float is at 35% and no new share offering was planned.

Safmar sells 15% in Safmar Financial Investments at RUB 610 per share On August 2, 2018 Safmar Financial Investments stated that Russian financial group Safmar of Mikhail Gutseriyev has sold around 15% in Safmar Financial Investments at a price of RUB 610 per share, or for RUB 10.218 bln. JSC Daglis acted as a selling shareholder. The company sold around 16.7 mln common shares of Safmar Financial Investments. VTB Capital organized the deal. As a result of the deal, Safmar’s stake in Safmar Financial Investments will fall to around 39.8% from 54.8%. The stake was purchased by several Russian businessmen. The group will use the raised funds to partially repay its debts. Safmar Financial Investments controls 100% in car leasing company Europlan, 49% in insurer VSK, 100% in private pension fund Safmar, and 99.9% in private pension fund Doveriye, among other assets.

Sovcombank may raise RUB 18.2 bln in private extra share sale On August 2, 2018 it was announced that Russia’s Sovcombank may raise RUB 18.2 bln in a private sale of newly-issued shares to foreign investors and shareholders of RosEvroBank. The bank will place 3 bln shares with a nominal value of 10 kopecks at a price of RUB 6.06 per share. The shares will be sold to RosEvroBank shareholders Ilya Brodsky, Sergei Grishin, and Andrei Suzdaltsev, as well as to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Investment Management, Saudi Arabia’s Ayar International Investment Company, Dutch company Co-Investment Partnership II C.V., Japan’s SBI Holdings, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, and several other offshore companies registered in Cyprus and the Cayman Islands. In March, the Federal Antimonopoly Service approved Sovcombank’s request to buy 54.67% in RosEvroBank, driving its ownership in the institution to 90.01%. Also in March, the shareholders of Sovcombank and RosEvroBank agreed to merge the two banks, making one of Russia’s top three private banks by assets.

Dividends/coupons MTS board recommends January-June 2018 dividends at RUB 5.2 bln, RUB 2.6 per share On July 31, 2018 the board of directors of major Russian mobile operator MTS recommended interim dividends for January-June at RUB 5.196 bln, or RUB 2.6 per common share and RUB 5.2 per American depositary receipt (ADR). Shareholders will consider the board’s recommendation at an extraordinary general meeting on September 28. The shareholders’ register for the meeting will be closed on September 4, and the register for dividends will be closed on October 9. MTS’ current dividend policy stipulates a target yield per share at RUB 25-26, or RUB 50-52 per ADR, but no less than RUB 20 per share and RUB 40 per ADR. Total annual dividend payments are seen at RUB 50-52 bln, but no less than RUB 40 bln. On June 28, shareholders approved dividends for 2017 at RUB 46.762 bln, or RUB 23.4 per common share and RUB 46.8 per ADR. In such a way, shareholders could receive in 2018 some RUB 52 bln in dividends in total, or RUB 26 per common share. MTS’ main shareholder is multi-industry holding of Vladimir Yevtushenkov with 47.21% of the operator’s capital, or 52.8% including the indirectly owned stakes.

NLMK board recommends paying RUB 5.24 per share in dividends for April-June 2018 On July 31, 2018 the board of directors of steelmaker (NLMK) recommended paying around RUB 31.4 bln, or RUB 5.24 per share, in dividends for April-June. NLMK also said that the total dividend amount accounts for 100% of its average free cash flow and a net profit for January-June according to a consolidated financial report. The decision will be considered at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on September 28. The record date is set for October 12. NLMK’s shareholders earlier approved dividends for January-March at RUB 5.73 per share and for October-December 2017 at RUB 3.36 per share.

MMK board recommends RUB 1.589 per share in April-June 2018 dividends On August 2, 2018 the board of directors of Russia’s Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) recommended paying RUB 1.589 per share in dividends for April-June. The dividend payment will amount to around USD 281 mln, which corresponds to 100% of the company’s free cash flow for the period. MMK earlier approved paying RUB 0.801 per share in dividends for January-March and RUB 0.806 in dividends for 2017. In 2017, the company paid RUB 0.869 per share in dividends for January-June and RUB 1.111 per share in dividends for January-September. Viktor Rashnikov, chairman of the board of directors, holds 84.3% in the company.

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VEON board approves 2018 interim dividends at USD 0.12 per share On August 2, 2018 the supervisory board of Amsterdam-based VEON, the sole owner of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, approved paying interim dividends for 2018 at USD 0.12 per share as compared to USD 0.11 announced in August 2017. The record date is set for August 14. For ordinary shareholders at Euronext Amsterdam, the interim dividend of USD 0.12 will be paid in euros. VEON earlier approved final dividends for October-December 2017 of USD 0.17 per share, which raised total final dividends for 2017 to USD 0.28 per share. LetterOne of Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman has 47.9% of VEON’s common and voting shares, and Norwegian telecom company Telenor owns 14.6%.

Eurobonds / DRs Credit Bank of Moscow raises Eurobond buyback offer to USD 142.8 mln On July 30, 2018 it was reported that Russia’s Credit Bank of Moscow raised the maximum buyback offer for Eurobonds maturing in 2027 and perpetual bonds to USD 142.8 mln from USD 100 mln. Bids will be accepted until August 10. The bank plans to announce the final buyback price on August 13 and make the settlements on August 15. Investors submitted 2027 Eurobonds worth USD 154.1 mln and perpetual papers worth USD 163.8 mln for the buyback, so the bank decided to raise the sum of the offer.

Please be advised that the information presented in this newsletter is based on the following sources: National Settlement Depository (NSD); Clearstream Banking; Euroclear Bank; PRIME-TASS information agency; “Kommersant”, "Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, “Izvestiya, "Vedomosti”, “The Moscow Times“ newspapers, and others.

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