Central Bank of Russia proposes stimulating IPOs through priority access to state guarantees, industrial mortgages, benefits
MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - The Russian government and the Central Bank of Russia continue to search for ways to encourage companies to enter the equity capital market, with the main thesis - that raising funds through stock exchange placements should become no less attractive for companies than borrowing - agreed upon by participants in the discussion some time ago.
The market is now waiting for the idea of subsidizing public placements, similar to subsidizing loans, to be formalized in documents. But these initiatives to popularize IPOs and SPOs among issuers are not limited to this measure alone.
In August, the Central Bank submitted proposals to the Finance Ministry, the Economic Development Ministry and the Industry and Trade Ministry on additional priority support measures for companies placing their shares on the stock exchange, sources familiar with the regulator's proposals told Interfax. Among them are priority access for public companies to state guarantees and participation in procurement, as well as allocation of a separate category for such companies under the industrial mortgage program.
PROCUREMENT, LEASE AND GUARANTEES
According to Interfax's sources, the regulator proposes granting issuers that have entered the stock market priority participation in procurements - both state procurements (under federal law 44-FZ) and procurements by state-owned companies (under federal law 223-FZ). If such an issuer finds itself in equal conditions with other bidders, it would be granted preferential rights to conclude contracts for the supply of goods, work and services.
The CBR proposes that issuers implementing large infrastructure projects and having placed their shares on the stock exchange should be given priority in obtaining state guarantees. This idea is explained by the fact that such companies, compared to non-public ones, best meet the requirement of ensuring transparency of financial and business activities, as well as ownership structure, established by the government decree on state guarantees.
According to the sources, the regulator also proposes allocating public issuers into a separate category of recipients of industrial mortgages, similar to technological companies, and to establish for them a separate sub-limit within the overall support program quota.
In addition, it is proposed that issuers be granted (by analogy with SMEs) preferential access to production sites, premises and land plots in business incubators, industrial parks and technology parks. In the regions, the Central Bank proposes distinguishing public issuers as a separate category of tenants in programs for providing state and municipal real estate for lease on preferential terms.
First of all, the CBR's proposals concern issuers with at least 15% of shares in free float, one of the sources said. At the same time, the source said that in the list of instructions issued by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in January (which prompted the CBR to develop its proposals) it was suggested that a two-stage scheme be analyzed - a free float of 15% ensures priority access to state support until 2028, and thereafter it becomes a mandatory condition.
In 2024, the Russian equity capital market saw 19 deals (15 IPOs and 4 SPOs) totaling more than 100 billion rubles. However, amid the tightening of monetary policy, market activity began to gradually decline last year and has practically stalled this year. Since the beginning of the year, only one small initial placement has taken place - JetLend Holding, owner of the JetLend crowdfunding platform, conducted an IPO on the SPB Exchange with a volume of around 500 million rubles.
The existing incentives are insufficient for the development of the capital market, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025) in June. "The capital market won't emerge on its own. We're currently debating measures with the government. However, the measures developed so far are insufficient, in my view, to achieve the presidential target for increasing capitalization and growing the stock market," she said.
The Central Bank has already put forward a number of proposals to stimulate businesses to enter the equity capital market. The previous package, which the regulator suggested for discussion last year, included a mechanism for subsidizing equity financing as an alternative to subsidizing loans. This idea later received support at the highest level.
The CBR also proposed discussing profit tax benefits for companies that went public through IPOs and SPOs, but the situation with this idea turned out to be more complicated. So far, the proposal on tax incentives has not received support, but it may be revisited when discussing large-scale listings of state-owned companies, CBR First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin told journalists in July.
