Gazprom – the monopoly to search for cheap money for South Stream from Vnesheconombank

Gazprom is joining the struggle for the pension funds in the Vnesheconombank’s Department following Russian Railways and the Federal Grid Company. As Kommersant has discovered, the monopoly wants to issue revenue-yielding bonds for 100 billion rubles to finance the Russian part of one of its most risky and expensive projects – the South Stream gas pipeline. Until now Gazprom hasn’t contended to have cheap and long-term state funding, but large-scale investment plans put increasing pressure the monopoly’s budget.

Kommersant has managed to become familiar with a letter of the Deputy Chairman of the Management and Senior Accountant of Gazprom, Elena Vasilyeva, sent to the First Vice Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov on July 12th (at that time Vasilyeva was temporary acting Chairman of the monopoly’s Management). The Top Manager asks Shuvalov to entrust the federal executive authority and Vnesheconombank “to consider possibility” to invest pension funds into revenue-yielding ruble bonds of the monopoly to the amount of up to 100 billion rubles