TASS-FACTBOX. On June 14-17, 2023, the 26th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will take place. Every year, hundreds of deals worth several trillion rubles are made there.
TASS has singled out the ten largest deals concluded in the history of SPIEF.
1. In 2013, Russian state oil company Rosneft and China People's Oil and Gas Company (CNPC) signed an agreement for long-term oil supplies worth $270 billion. The contract provides for the shipment of 365 million tons of oil to China over 25 years. Deliveries began at the end of July 2013.
2. In 2022, Russia’s New Land Grain Corridor Group of Companies and the Chinese state corporation China Chengtong International Investment signed a trade and investment agreement to develop elevator and grain logistics infrastructures in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The cost of the agreement amounted to about 2 trillion rubles. (about $35 bln at the current exchange rate). The supply of grain products through the new land grain corridor to China began on May 31, 2023.
3. In 2022, Sberbank and DOM.RF signed a memorandum on the issuance of mortgage bonds for up to 1 trillion rubles (about $18 bln) during 2022-2023. The first issue of bonds under the agreement took place in August 2022: its volume amounted to 155.4 bln rubles ($1.89 bln).
4. In 2022, Russian Railways and VTB entered into a five-year loan agreement for up to 630 bln rubles (about $11.5 bln). The Russian Railways press service reported that the bank's financial support would allow the railways to partially replace lending from European markets and continue financing important infrastructure projects.
5. In 2017, a memorandum of strategic partnership between Germany’s Linde Group and the Russian TAIF group of companies (now part of Sibur) was signed on the construction of a new ethylene production complex based on Nizhnekamskneftekhim. Investments in the project were estimated at $10 billion. The parties also signed a contract for the design of the complex worth about $1 billion. The construction of the complex started in 2020, with the Turkish company Gemont initially operating as the general contractor. In July 2022, the contract with Germont was terminated, and construction continued with the help of Russian contractors. Because of this, the delivery date has shifted from the originally planned 2023 to 2024.
6. In 2019, the government of the Leningrad region signed an agreement with LLC " RusChemAlliance" for the construction of a complex for processing ethane-containing gas and the production of liquefied natural gas in the area of Ust-Luga. Previously, the project was to be implemented there by Gazprom jointly with British company Shell. The scope of the agreement is $11 billion. The first concrete in the foundation of the complex was poured in November 2021, the work was carried out by Linde and was stopped by the German side in the summer of 2022. Currently, RusChemAlliance is seeking the return of the advance payment issued to Linde for construction.
7. In 2021, Russian Platinum signed a memorandum of intent with VEB.RF and VTB on a project to develop the Chernogorskoye platinum-copper-nickel deposit in the Krasnoyarsk Region, including the construction of a mining and processing plant with a capacity of 7 million tons of ore per year. The total investment in the project was estimated at $7.2 bln. The loan agreement was signed in February 2022. The commissioning of the mining and processing plant is scheduled for 2024.
8. In 2013, Rosneft entered into an agreement with the Polish company PKN Orlen S.A. for the supply of 8 million tons of oil to the Czech Republic via the Druzhba pipeline in the amount of $7 billion. The contract was originally concluded until June 30, 2016, since then it has been extended three times. The agreement expired in January 2023.
9. In 2018, Rosneft, VEB and VEB-Leasing signed an agreement on strategic cooperation on long-term leasing of production equipment. The amount of financing amounted to $6.5 bln.
10. In 2016, Gazprombank and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR signed a memorandum on financing a gas processing complex project in Garadagh (Azerbaijan) in the amount of up to $5 billion. There were no announcements about the start of construction.