Too soon for Avtovaz to pay dividends - Chemezov
MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - It is too soon for Avtovaz to start paying dividends, Sergei Chemezov, the chief of the state Russian Technologies (Rostechnologii) corporation and the car maker's board chairman, told reporters.
"I don't think they should yet. Better to reinvest the money," Chemezov said, adding that it was for the shareholders to make the final decision.
Avtovaz closed 2010 with 2.106 billion rubles in net profits to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS), compared with losses of 38.5 billion rubles in 2009 and 6.7 billion rubles in 2008.
When asked about the current state of negotiations with Renault-Nissan for raising the stake in AvtoVaz, Chemezov said: "negotiations are underway, we can't brag about anything. I hope that something moves ahead soon".
Commenting on the configuration of the possible deal, Chemezov said that two options are under consideration: either Renault boosting its stake or "Nissan acquiring some packet".