Amur Gas Chemical Complex of Russia's SIBUR places bonds in 2024 covering all remaining expenditures
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - The Amur Gas Chemical Complex or AGCC, which is 60% owned by SIBUR and 40% by China's Sinopec, has successfully secured a bond loan to finance the construction of the complex, covering all remaining project costs, SIBUR said.
"The Group pledged its stake in AGCC LLC as collateral," SIBUR said in an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) report for 9M 2024.
"The Group has provided financial guarantees for the obligations of AGCC LLC, with maturities ranging from 2025 to 2034. A loan agreement was signed to finance AGCC LLC in the amount of 800 billion rubles, secured by an insurance agreement in the form of a guarantee with special liquidity support obligations issued by the Group. The Group is in negotiations with the other participant to proportionally finance the project based on the shareholding, which in the Group's opinion will reduce the maximum credit risk," it said.
In early September, SIBUR CEO Mikhail Karisalov told journalists that AGCC was considering issuing bonds on the Russian capital market, but did not disclose the size of the issue. "To further finance AGCC, we are considering a bond issuance on the Russian capital market, which will cover the remaining CAPEX for the project," he said.
SIBUR's board member and executive director Pavel Lyakhovich previously told Interfax that AGCC was financed through shareholder contributions and a bridge loan from a Russian bank. It was also reported that the project's target financing structure involved 70% loan financing and 30% shareholder investments. This structure will remain unchanged, with short-term financing being replaced by long-term bonds, Karisalov said.
AGCC's long-term liabilities totaled 407.4 billion rubles at the end of 2023, up from 231.6 billion rubles the previous year, while short-term liabilities increased from 15 billion rubles to 28.7 billion rubles.
Among the credit agreements is a $1.3 billion loan taken out at the end of 2021, with repayment scheduled between 2025 and 2035. Taking into account the ruble exchange rate at the end of 2023, the loan's value was estimated at 118.8 billion rubles. It was previously reported that the credit line's term coincides with the project financing timeline, which AGCC planned to secure for $9.1 billion.
In 2022, European contractors and licensors, whose participation was backed by guarantees from European export credit agencies, exited the project, prompting a revision of the financing scheme.
The Amur Gas Chemical Complex project's cost has increased insignificantly compared to the original plan due to changes in its configuration following the departure of Western licensors, Karisalov said. The initial project cost was estimated at over $10 billion.
