Russia's Petropavlovsk seeks to restructure debt with sanction-hit Gazprombank

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk is in early talks with lender Gazprombank to restructure its debt with the sanction-hit Russian bank, it said on Wednesday.

The potential restructuring comes as borrowers face hurdles in repaying the interest on their debts due to Western sanctions on Russian banks over the Ukraine crisis.

Britain last week expanded its sanctions against several entities, including Gazprombank, one of the main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas.

London-listed miner Petropavlovsk has a $200 million committed term loan with Gazprombank and around $87 million in credit lines, interest of which had not been paid due to sanctions.

Petropavlovsk said another $500 million of guaranteed notes issued by the miner, of which $304 million remains outstanding, will mature in November and any potential restructuring of its debt would be within the limitations imposed by the sanctions.

Separately, another London-listed precious metals miner, Polymetal, said on Wednesday it was re-evaluating its liquidity, including its dividend recommendation due to regulatory and funding uncertainties. 

Reuters