MinFin suggests alternatives to NWF for Zvezda shipyard project
MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax) - The financing arrangements for the project to create the Zvezda shipbuilding complex, for which Rosneft wanted to use National Welfare Fund (NWF) money, could change radically.
An industry source and a source at a government agency told Interfax that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov last week wrote to the Russian president, suggesting that NWF money not be used in the project - firstly because this money is limited and secondly because of the project's commercial appeal - its internal rate of return will be close to 30%.
The Finance Ministry thinks the project's initiator, CJSC Modern Shipbuilding Technologies, ought to cover a quarter of the project's costs, allocating 36 billion rubles, including re-invested future profit. The federal budget might make a modest contribution of 1 billion rubles per year in the period 2016-2018 in the framework of the state program to develop shipbuilding and equipment for offshore projects. The budgeted money would be released in the form of loan interest subsidies.
The key investor, according to the ministry's proposals, would be the state Rosneftegaz holding, which has Rosneft President Igor Sechin as its board chairman. The holding's main assets are a 69.5% stake in Rosneft, around 11% of Gazprom and 27.6% of Inter RAO UES . Rosneftegaz has amassed dividends from those stakes over the years and has a huge liquidity cushion, and the government is constantly arguing about how best to spend that money.
The Finance Ministry thinks Rosneftegaz could invest at least 50 billion rubles in Modern Shipbuilding Technologies, covering about a third of the costs, an Interfax source said.
The other 56 billion rubles of the project's entire costs of 145.5 billion rubles might come from banks and non-state pension funds under state guarantee. Finance Minister Siluanov said this possibility was being discussed with Gazprombank and with pension funds controlled by Sberbank and VTB . The pension funds are prepared to finance Zvezda at the rate of inflation plus 3 percentage points.
Rosneft is not commenting on the information. A source at the oil company said discussion of allocating funds for the Zvezda project was ongoing but there was no final decision. It said the proposals in the Finance Ministry's letter were "so far the position of the Finance Ministry alone."
Rosneft has requested 89 billion rubles for the project from the NWF. In addition to the NWF funds, there are also plans to obtain state support in the form of 5.6 billion rubles compensation for loan interest to build the shipyard and the use of the company's own and borrowed funds.
There are plans to build large-tonnage vessels at the new shipyard, including high ice-class tankers and gas carriers, and drilling platforms of various types. The project is tied to the development of offshore oil and gas fields in the Arctic.
Rosneft plans to carry the project out in conjunction with United Shipbuilding Corporation and Gazprombank.