Board of Directors endorses updates in Gazprom investment program and budget for 2006
Message to the Media
A meeting of the Gazprom Board of Directors has been held in absentia.
The Board of Directors has endorsed the updated Gazprom Investment Program and Budget (Financial Plan) for 2006.
Under the updated Investment Program, long-term financial investments have been increased by RUR 85.46 bln to RUR 133.67 bln. Thus, overall investments for 2006 have grown from RUR 373.14 bln to RUR 458.6 bln.
Under the updated Budget, overall cash income & revenues (taking into consideration the account balance as of the start of the reporting period) will amount to RUR 2 tcm 228 bln, RUR 17.21 bln up on the Financial Plan approved in September 2006. Total cash liabilities, expenditures and investments will make up RUR 2 tcm 343 bln, RUR 45.27 bln up on the Financial Plan endorsed in September 2006. Financial borrowings have been increased by RUR 28.91 bln to RUR 118.91 bln.
The Investment Program and Budget have been updated due to OAO Gazprom’s acquisition of the shares in OAO Novatek and OAO Mosenergo from ZGG GmbH and Non-State Pension Fund Gazfond, respectively. The deals are financed through the sale of the OAO Gazprom shareholdings in ZAO AB Gazprombank, partial redistribution of the Company’s expenditures and attraction of extra borrowings.
Background
In September 2006, OAO Gazprom, represented by ZGG GmbH, closed the deal to purchase 19.4 per cent of the outstanding ordinary shares in OAO Novatek from OOO Levit and SWGI Growth Fund (Cyprus) Limited (the major shareholders of OAO Novatek).
On October 27, 2006, the OAO Gazprom Board of Directors approved the deal to sell a 24.9 per cent stake held by OAO Gazprom in ZAO AB Gazprombank to Non-State Pension Fund Gazfond as well as the deal contemplating OAO Gazprom’s acquisition of a Non-State Pension Fund Gazfond owned 19.87 per cent stake in OAO Mosenergo.
Information Directorate, OAO Gazprom