KIEV, March 16 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's national
energy company Naftogaz has over $4 billion in debts, with
two-thirds of this sum due to be repaid by the end of 2009, a
Ukrainian business paper reported on Monday.
The Russian-language newspaper Delo, which is published in
Ukraine, said that Ukraine's largest state company has to repay
loans of over 25 billion hryvna ($3 billion) in 2009, with
another 4 billion hryvna (about $500 million) due in interest
payments.
"The company's total borrowings exceeded 34.5 billion
hryvna ($4.3 billion) as of the start of the year. Moreover,
some of the company's loans were extended against gas in
underground gas storage facilities," Delo reported.
Overall, Naftogaz owes 12 financial institutions,
including seven foreign banks. Loans in foreign currency, which
has appreciated considerably against the hryvna in the past six
months, exceed 40% of the company's debts, Delo said.
Naftogaz earlier fully settled its $360 million debt to
Russian energy giant Gazprom for natural gas supplied in
February.
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