SSEECCUURRIIITTIIIEESS MMAARRKKEETT NNEEWWSSLLEETTTTEERR weekly

Presented by: VTB Bank, Custody

December 3, 2020 Issue No. 2020/47

Market News

Minister says Hungary may consider production of Russian vaccine On November 27, 2020 Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko that Hungary was ready to consider production of -developed anti-coronavirus vaccines. He stated that Hungary was in talks on using and localizing Russia’s production technology. The experts in production of other vaccines in Hungary say it takes long, but Hungary wants to have the vaccine already in December or January. Murashko said that Russia is ready to transfer the technology to Hungary. He also said that the government does not see a regime of health masks wearing on the entire territory of Russia as reasonable, and measures to fight against the epidemic should be approved at a local level.

Legislation

Central bank sends bill dividing firms into groups by risk to Duma On November 27, 2020 it was reported that the Russian central bank submitted a draft law dividing corporate clients of banks into groups by risk to the State Duma, parliament's lower chamber. The criteria for splitting companies and the self-employed into risk groups in accordance with their involvement in dubious transactions are to be defined by the and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service and will be published on the official website of the Central Bank of Russia on the Internet. In accordance with the document, there are three risk groups: green, yellow and red. The yellow group is subject to suspension of transactions if experts find traits of possible fraud. The red group forbids its members to open new accounts, carry out any transactions, use remote banking services and the rapid payment system.

Company News

Bank Saint Petersburg board wants to list preferred shares on MoEx On November 26, 2020 the supervisory board of Bank Saint Petersburg decided to ask the Exchange to list the preferred shares. Konstantin Noskov, director of the strategic development department, said that listing on the was aimed at fulfilling requests of the current shareholders. He added that the bank had no plans to change the dividend policy. Bank Saint Petersburg ranked 18th by assets as of October 1. The net profit of the bank grew 3.6% on the year to RUB 3.6 bln in January–June, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Court confirms Oshchadbank ownership of Sberbank brand in Ukraine On November 27, 2020 the Supreme Court of Ukraine had turned down a cassation claim of Russia's Sberbank and had recognized Oshchadbank as the owner of Sberbank's brand on the territory of the country. Oshchadbank, a former affiliate of the Sberbank of USSR, claimed in 2016 that Sberbank violates Oshchadbank's copyright by using the Sberbank brand and sued the bank in 2016. In March 2017, Kiev introduced sanctions against all subsidiaries of Russian banks – the Ukrainian units of Sberbank and VTB Bank, VS Bank of Sberbank, BM Bank of VTB, and VEB.RF’s unit Prominvestbank, prohibiting all financial operations in favor of affiliated parties, including parent banks. In April 2017, the Kiev commercial court ruled the Sberbank– Oshchadbank suit in favor of Oshchadbank. Sberbank protested against the decision, three

1 expert tests were held, and all Sberbank's claims were dismissed. The bank also lost the sberbank.ua domain name.

Bank Trust to buy 9% in VTB from Otkritie FC Bank On November 27, 2020 a central bank official said that non-core asset bank Trust would buy a 9% stake in VTB from Otkritie Financial Corporation (FC) Bank on market terms. The purchase will be funded by Bank Trust’s spare liquidity and a deposit of the central bank. Financing provided by the Central Bank of Russia will be set in accordance with the asset price assigned on the organized stock market on the eve of the deal and will not exceed RUB 79.8 bln. A central bank spokesperson said that the deal will include some non-core assets of Otkritie FC Bank but not United Wagon Company (UWC).

Petropavlovsk appoints Denis Aleksandrov from HGM as CEO On November 30, 2020 it was announced that Petropavlovsk Plc, which operates gold deposits in Russia, appointed Denis Aleksandrov from Highland Gold Mining (HGM) as the CEO. Aleksandrov was CEO of HGM from January 2016 until November 2020.

Kuzbass Fuel Company may go private, buy shares of dissenters On November 30, 2020 the board of directors of Russian coal producer Kuzbass Toplivnaya (Fuel) Company suggested termination of a public status of the company and buying shares of the dissenting shareholders at RUB 152.2 apiece. The shareholders will consider the proposal at an extraordinary general meeting on December 30. Kuzbass Fuel Company’s shareholder equity is split into 99,258,355 shares. The core shareholder of the company is a venture controlled by Mikhail and Said Gutseriyevs.

Uralkali says UralChem raises stake in it to 81.47% from 46.37% On December 2, 2020 it was reported that Rinsoco Trading Co. of Dmitry Lobyak cut the share in Russian fertilizer producer Uralkali to 18.53% from 53.63%, while UralChem of Dmitry Mazepin raised the stake to 81.47% from 46.37%. Rinsoco Trading held a 53.63% stake in the capital of Uralkali, or 53.71% of common shares. On November 30, the stake fell to 18.525% in the capital, or 18.96% of common shares. UralChem held 46.37% and 46.29% respectively and raised the stake to 81.47% and 81.04%. UralChem said that the purchase was financed by a long-term loan taken from Sberbank, structured as a syndicated loan under Russian legislation.

MTS says ends RUB 15 bln buyback, acquires 2.28% stake On December 3, 2020 major Russian mobile operator MTS has completed its RUB 15 bln buyback program with a total acquisition of a 2.28% stake, or 45.5 mln ordinary shares, purchased by the operator’s fully owned subsidiary Bastion. Since the launch of the repurchase plan on March 31, Bastion has acquired 45,501,316 shares of common stock, including shares of common stock represented by American depositary shares (ADSs) representing 2.28% of share capital issued by MTS. This includes 22,758,872 shares of common stock, including shares of common stock represented by ADSs, acquired from (’s unit) Sistema Finance under a sale and purchase agreement concluded prior to the launch of the repurchase plan. MTS’ board of directors approved the buyback program on March 19. As a result of the initiative, multi-

Altus Capital asks antitrust to clear purchase of 30% in Detsky Mir On December 3, 2020 investment company Altus Capital has asked the Federal Antimonopoly Service to approve preliminarily the purchase of a 29.9% stake in Detsky Mir. On November 30, Altus Capital offered the shareholders of Detsky Mir to sell up to 220.961 mln shares in the company, which accounts for 29.9% of its capital, at RUB 160 per share, or a total of RUB 35.35 bln. The offer does not cover the shares owned by the U.S. firms and companies on the depending territories.

Russian government approves order appointing Kulikov as Rusnano CEO On December 3, 2020 the Russian government has approved an order to appoint Sergei Kulikov as the CEO of nanotechnology corporation Rusnano. Kulikov will replace Anatoly Chubais on the post. A source familiar with the situation said that Rusnano’s board of directors would consider appointment of the new CEO in the next few days.

Lisin's company sells 2.1% of Russia's NLMK shares On December 3, 2020 Fletcher Group, a company of the key beneficiary of steel producer (NLMK) Vladimir Lisin, has sold about 128 mln shares, or a 2.1% stake in NLMK. The sale was performed via an accelerated book building. After the sale completion, Fletcher Group will remain with a 79.3% stake in the company, and the number of shares in free float will rise to 20.7%. It is expected that the growth of free float will lead to higher liquidity of shares of the company. NLMK closed at USD 26.78 per security in London on December 2, which puts the market price of the stake at a little more than USD 320 mln.

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Rosneft says board prolongs buyback program until 2022 On December 3, 2020 the board of directors of Russian oil company has prolonged a buyback program for one year, until 2022. The USD 2 bln buyback program to purchase up to 340 mln shares was launched in March 2018, and was scheduled to last until 2021. UBS was appointed its independent agent. Rosneft's unit RN-Capital acquires the shares. Since the launch of the program, the company bought back 80.758 million securities spending USD 369.5 mln.

Dividends/coupons Shareholders of TMK approve RUB 3 per share in January-June 2020 dividends On November 27, 2020 shareholders of Russian oil and gas pipeline producer TMK approved paying RUB 3 per ordinary share, or a total of RUB 3.099 bln, in dividends for January–June. The record date for the dividends is December 7. TMK paid no final dividends for 2018 and 2019, but paid RUB 2.55 per ordinary share in dividends for January–March 2019. Dmitry Pumpyansky, chairman of the board of directors, is the main beneficiary owner of the company. After two share buyback programs, the free float of TMK is 9.62%.

Severstal to pay RUB 37.34 per share in dividends for July–September 2020 On November 30, 2020 shareholders of Russian steelmaker approved paying RUB 37.34 per share, or around RUB 31.28 bln, in dividends for July–September. The record date for the dividends is December 8. Severstal paid RUB 27.47 per share in dividends for July–September 2019 in 2020, the company already paid RUB 27.35 per share, or a total of around RUB 22.91 bln, in dividends for January– March and RUB 15.44 per share, or a total of RUB 12.93 bln, for April–June. The core owner of Severstal is tycoon Alexei Mordashov with a stake of 77.03%.

Sberbank to pay 50% of IFRS profit in dividends in next 3 years On November 30, 2020 German Gref, CEO of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, said that the bank plans to pay 50% of net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in dividends over the next three years.

Bank Saint Petersburg holders approve RUB 0.11 per preferred share in January–September 2020 dividends On November 30, 2020 shareholders of Russia’s Bank Saint Petersburg approved paying 11 kopecks per preferred share in dividends for January–September and RUB 3.33 per common share in dividends for the period. The record date was set at December 11. The bank paid RUB 0.11 per preferred share in dividends for 2019.

Gazprom confirms January–September contribution to 2020 dividends at RUB 5.4 per share On December 1, 2020 it was reported that contribution of the January–September financial result into the 2020 dividends of Russian gas giant amounts to RUB 5.4 per share. Alexei Finikov, a department deputy head at Gazprom, said that the company did not plan to use a net debt to EBITDA ratio of higher than 2.5x as a formal reason to reduce dividends. Gazprom said in the presentation that its net debt/EBITDA ratio rose to 2.9x in the third quarter from 2.3x in the second quarter. A recommendation will be given after the company publishes its annual results in April 2021.

Europlan says to pay RUB 1.2 bln in dividends for January–September 2020 On December 1, 2020 shareholder of Russian car leasing company Europlan approved paying RUB 10 per share, or a total of RUB 1.2 bln, in dividends for January–September. The company will pay RUB 825.6 mln from the net profit for January–September and RUB 374.3 mln from the undisbursed profit for 2019. Safmar Financial Investments owns 100% in Europlan.

Gazprom Neft to continue paying interim dividends On December 1, 2020 Alexei Yankevich, deputy CEO for economy and finances at Russian oil major Gazprom Neft said that the company plans to adhere to payment of interim dividends even amid a difficult situation. Gazprom Neft’s board of directors earlier recommended paying RUB 5 per share in dividends for January–September. Shareholders will consider the recommendation on December 18. The company is guided by the oil price of USD 46–47 per barrel when forming the budget for 2021. For investment planning Gazprom Neft is guided by the oil price of USD 45 per barrel until 2023 and USD 50 per barrel from 2024. He also said that Gazprom Neft had closed a deal with Shell to create a joint venture on the Yenisei project. Gazprom Neft has an excessive portfolio of projects and is considering attracting partners, including Western companies.

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Norilsk Nickel seeks to pay dividends based on free cash flow On December 1, 2020 Vladimir Zhukov, Vice President of Russian metals giant , said that the company would like to pay dividends under a formula calculated on the basis of free cash flow rather than earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). Senior Vice President and CFO Sergei Malyshev said that Norilsk Nickels’s dividends for 2021 would be the last to be calculated in accordance with the shareholders’ agreement, and the company expects a more balanced approach to dividends starting with payments for 2022.

Eurobonds / DRs CEO says Sibur owners still think about IPO, no decision yet On December 2, 2020 Dmitry Konov, CEO of Russian petrochemical holding Sibur, said that the company’s shareholders were still considering an initial public offering (IPO), although there was no decision.

Russian Railways offers social Eurobonds at 6.55–6.65% On December 3, 2020 a financial source said that Russian Railways has opened a bid book for ruble- denominated 7-year social Eurobonds with a yield guidance at 6.55–6.65%. Gazprombank, J.P. Morgan, , Sova Capital, UniCredit, and VTB Capital act as the organizers of the placement. Russian Railways plans to spend the raised funds on financing and refinancing of social projects in transport availability, healthcare, education and rescue.

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.

For more information kindly contact: Anna Enfiandzhiants Evgenia Makarova Julia Dombrovskaya T +7 (495) 783 13 91 T +7 (495) 783 13 64 T +7 (495) 783 13 15 F +7 (495) 783 13 89 F +7 (495) 783 13 89 F +7 (495) 783 13 20 E [email protected] E [email protected] E [email protected] This document has been prepared exclusively for internal use of VTB Bank (PJSC) customers. The information should not be further distributed or duplicated in whole or in part by any means without the prior written consent of VTB Bank (PJSC). The information contained herein has been prepared on the basis of information which is either publicly available or obtained from a source which VTB Bank (PJSC) believes to be reliable at the time of publication. Information provided herein may be a summary or translation. The content of the material contained herein is subject to change without notice, and such changes could affect its validity. VTB Bank (PJSC) is not obligated to update the material in light of future events. Furthermore, VTB Bank (PJSC) does not warrant, expressly or implicitly, its veracity, accuracy or completeness. VTB Bank (PJSC) and its affiliates accept no liability whatsoever for any use of this communication or any action taken based on or arising from the material contained herein. Additional information may be available upon request. The material in this communication is for information purposes only. Therefore, this communication should not be interpreted as investment, tax or legal advice by VTB Bank (PJSC) or any of its officers, directors, employees or agents and customers should consult with appropriate professional advisers for these specific matters. Nothing expressed or implied herein is intended to create any obligation of VTB Bank (PJSC) and/or impose any liability on VTB Bank (PJSC) and/or create legal relations between VTB Bank (PJSC) and VTB Bank (PJSC) customers.

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