Rusnano could be disbanded - paper
MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - The Russian government is considering disbanding state nanotech company Rusnano, the Vedomosti newspaper said, quoting sources.
The paper said the proposal came about because Rusnano it lost the ability to meet obligations on its own, and the government is questioning whether it makes sense to maintain budgeted support for it in the current circumstances. The sources said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov described the prospects for this in a letter to President Vladimir Putin.
This scenario could see the transfer to other specialized state corporations of those portfolio companies that are important for the country's technological development.
The paper said an alternative scenario might be "to continue the policy of cleaning up the balance sheet, but preserving the development institution as a center of innovation competencies" since Rusnano's expertise may help to accomplish import substitution tasks.
A decision on Rusnano's future has not been reached and will depend on the president's opinion, Vedomosti said.
"We are monitoring the state company's financial state within the framework of the new board of directors. All obligations, including those covered by state guarantees, will be honored in full. We continue efforts to stabilize the current situation and ensure the company's financial sustainability," a Finance Ministry representative told the paper.
A source at one ministry told Interfax that the issue was raised at a cabinet meeting last week with the wording "On assigning to the Economic Development Ministry budgeted allocations from the Russian government's reserve fund in 2022 to provide subsidies from the federal budget to Rusnano JSC for the purpose of its recapitalization," the speaker being Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
Vedomosti said last week that the Finance Ministry had honored Rusnano's obligations to creditors on its sixth bond series, paying out their face value of 9 billion rubles plus 560 million rubles in interest.