Eurotorg LLC informs of the current situation and the risks that may affect Eurotorg's ability to service its debt under the Eurobonds issued by Bonitron DAC
12 July 2022
Due to a significant amount of sanctions imposed on Belarus and its residents by the U.S.A., the E.U., the U.K. and a number of other countries, as well as retaliatory measures of the Government of Belarus, Eurotorg LLC («Eurotorg», the «Company» or «we») takes this opportunity to inform of the current situation and the risks that may affect Eurotorg's ability to service its debt under the Eurobonds issued by Bonitron DAC (the «Issuer»), ISIN XS2243344434 (the «Notes»).
We would like to underscore as the most significant the following sanctions restrictions and related events:
- E.U. and U.K. ban on transactions with the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus;
- termination by Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG and Citibank, N.A., London Branch of their activities as registrar, financial, payment and transfer agent with respect to the sovereign Eurobonds of Belarus;
- restrictions on international payments for most Belarusian banks, including, among other sanctions, bans from the SWIFT infrastructure;
- imposition of sanctions against most Belarusian banks by the U.S.A., E.U., U.K. and other countries, as well as the inclusion of the largest Belarusian banks on the U.S.A. SDN list;
- introduction of additional sanctions by the U.K. on 5 July 2022 which restrict access of Belarusian companies to financial markets and financial services;
- a rating action by Fitch Ratings as of 7 July 2022 on the back of the decision of the Government and the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus to fulfill the foreign currency debt obligations on sovereign Eurobonds in Belarusian rubles: the Agency downgraded Belarus's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (LTFC IDR) from "CCC" to "C". Should the Republic of Belarus fail to meet coupon payments on its Eurobonds due in foreign currency by 13 July 2022, the Agency will consider it as an event of default and lower Belarus’s long-term default rating to "RD";
- adoption of a resolution of 19 May 2022 by the European Parliament, which calls for additional sanctions against Belarus and extension to Belarus of all sanctions implemented against Russia; and
- adoption of the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Belarus dated 1 July 2022, which forbids the shareholders of Eurotorg LLC (among a number of other enterprises) to dispose of their shares in the Company.
Although at the present time Eurotorg has the financial capacity to service its debt on schedule, including interest and principal payments due to the Issuer pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement dated 20 October 2020 entered into with the Issuer, the Company cannot assure that current or future sanctions imposed by the U.S.A., the E.U., the U.K. or counter-sanctions or other restrictions that may be introduced by regulatory authorities in Belarus will not prevent the Company from meeting its obligations in a timely manner going forward. In addition, there is a risk that one or more of the intermediaries (including paying agents, clearing systems and their direct and indirect participants) may block payments or otherwise refuse to provide services related to the processing of payments with respect to the notes issued by the Issuer, regardless of whether the Company or its beneficial owners are subject to financial sanctions.
The Company will continue to provide updates on any material developments in respect of the foregoing as and when they arise.
This announcement may contain inside information as defined in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (the «Market Abuse Regulation») and is disclosed in accordance with the Issuer's obligations under Article 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation.
For further details, please contact:
Chief Investment Officer, Eurotorg LLC
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Andrei Belkavets |
Department of Investor Relations, Eurotorg LLC
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