Cherkizovo not ruling out increased settlements in yuan, dirhams within export program
MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Cherkizovo Group , one of Russia's leading producers of meat products, is not ruling out increasing settlements in yuan and dirhams as part of its export program.
"In principle, as alternatives - settlements in other currencies, such as yuan and dirhams - we have that represented partially, we will increase [their use] if necessary," CEO Sergei Mikhailov said during a webinar on the upcoming bond issue.
Export logistics have stabilized recently, he said. "It has become a little more expensive because there is less competition," Mikhailov said.
Irina Kondratova, head of the group's treasury, corporate finance and reporting department, said at the webinar that the company is currently working mainly with subsidiaries of Western banks in its export program. "Plus, we actively cooperate with Chinese banks, which will likely be our guides in this market," she said.
The group's export cargoes are insured by EXIAR (the Russian Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agency), she also said.
As reported, in late September Cherkizovo plans to collect bids for a 3-year BO-001P-05 series bond issue worth at least 5 billion rubles. The issue will have quarterly coupons. The rates of coupons 2-12 will be equal to the rate of the first coupon. The organizers will be BCS Global Markets, Gazprombank , MCB , BC Region, RusAg Bank, and Sinara Investment Bank. Gazprombank was chosen as the placement agent.
There are currently three issues of the company's exchange-traded bonds in circulation, totaling 22.3 billion rubles.
The Cherkizovo Group comprises 11 poultry farms, 16 pig farms, 11 meat processing plants, as well as nine feed mills and 300,000 hectares of agricultural land. The company is the leader in poultry sales (711,000 tonnes in 2021) and feed production (2.1 million tonnes), second in turkey meat sales (52,000 tonnes) and third in sales of precessed meat products (136,000 tonnes). Cherkizovo ranks eighth in pork production (240,000 tonnes).
