- Title: RUSSIA: YUKOS EXPECTS BANKRUPTCY IF UNABLE TO MEET GOVERNMENT TAX DEMAND.
- Date: 22nd July 2004
- Summary: (W4) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 22, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. GV/TILT DOWN: YUKOS HEADQUARTERS 0.12 2. GV/PAN: PEOPLE WALKING INTO BUILDING 0.19 3. MV/PAN/MV: YUKOS LEADERSHIP WALKS INTO NEWS CONFERENCE; JOURNALISTS LISTENING (2 SHOTS) 0.39 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) YUKOS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STEVEN THEEDE, SAYING: "If no alternative solutions are found, the restricted access we have to our cash means that we will essentially run out of cash and not be able to fund our business operating expenses and obligations sometime during the first half of August. So, not a lot of time here given the restrictions that are being placed on this." 1.09 5. CU: YUKOS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, VIKTOR GERASCHENKO, LISTENING TO THEEDE 1.14 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) THEEDE, SAYING: "We have sent something like 11 letters to different individuals in government over the last 6 weeks, making offers, asking questions, basically showing that we are totally flexible in terms of what we would be willing to do and what we would be willing to put on the table to solve this overall dispute. Unfortunately, we have not received any formal responses to any of those 11 letters." 1.53 7. VARIOUS: TRADERS ON TRADING FLOOR OF ALFA BANK; TRADING SCREEN SHOWING FALLING YUKOS SHARES; TRADERS WATCHING TELEVISION NEWS BULLETIN; TRADERS LOOKING AT SHARE PRICES; TRADERS ON PHONE (6 SHOTS) 2.29 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SALES DEPARTMENT FOR ALFA BANK, KIRILL SURIKOV, SAYING: "There is no economic reason and political sense to not try to reach some sort of accord if one is, of course, possible, for the authorities. And we believe that the market is pricing in a scenario whereby the company is essentially dissolved without any compensation to the company itself, which we think is a little too bleak given the current circumstances." 2.55 9. MV/GV: VARIOUS OF TRADERS WATCHING SCREENS (2 SHOTS) 3.08 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 6th August 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVA1FCMFA523GD7AP82CDBZBGSI1
- Story Text: YUKOS leaders warn of bankruptcy in near future
unless able to raise cash to meet government tax demand.
Russia's largest oil company by output said on
Thursday (July 22) it expected bankruptcy in the near
future unless it could raise cash soon.
"If no alternative solutions are found, the restricted
access we have to our cash means that we will essentially
run out of cash and not be able to fund our business
operating expenses and obligations sometime during the
first half of August. So, not a lot of time here given the
restrictions that are being placed on this," YUKOS Chief
Executive Officer, Steven Theede, said at a news conference
in Moscow on Thursday.
Theede also said the company had paid tariffs to ship
its oil through export pipelines until the end of August.
The YUKOS CEO said that his company was still hoping to
reach an agreement with the government over payments. But,
so far, all proposals have gone unanswered.
"We have sent something like 11 letters to different
individuals in government over the last 6 weeks, making
offers, asking questions, basically showing that we are
totally flexible in terms of what we would be willing to do
and what we would be willing to put on the table to solve
this overall dispute. Unfortunately, we have not received
any formal responses to any of those 11 letters," added Theede.
YUKOS's bank accounts are frozen over the tax demand
and markets have worried that its exports could halt if it
failed to pay shipment tariffs to pipeline monopoly
Transneft.
YUKOS shares hit a new 30-month low of 5.30 U.S.
dollars on Moscow's RTS exchange after the statement and
by 0820 GMT the stock was down 15 percent at 5.10 U.S.
dollars.
On the rouble-denominated MICEX exchange, it was down
13.5 percent at 147.05 roubles.
But Alfa Bank trader Kirill Surikov said that he
believed the YUKOS price was already reflecting a
worst-case scenario for the company.
"We believe that the market is pricing in a scenario
whereby the company is essentially dissolved without any
compensation to the company itself, which we think is a
little too bleak given the current circumstances," said
Surikov.
The YUKOS case is being closely watched by foreign
investors as an indication of Russian market stability
under President Vladimir Putin.
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