Potanin told how Norilsk Nickel was allowed to pay its debts in foreign currency

Norilsk Nickel received permission from a special commission under the Ministry of Finance to redeem a coupon on Eurobonds. Vladimir Potanin, the largest co-owner and president of Norilsk Nickel, spoke about this in an interview with RBC.

At the end of February, the EU froze about half of the financial reserves of the Russian Central Bank. After that, the Central Bank obliged exporters to sell 80% of foreign exchange earnings, and other currency control measures were introduced, including restrictions on payments on debts to non-residents. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing debts to be paid to foreign creditors in rubles, but not all of them are willing to accept such payments.

“Currency regulation provides for a restriction on the payment of both sovereign debt and debts of companies, credited to a special account - with a settlement in rubles and subsequent conversion when the gold and foreign exchange reserves are unfrozen,” says Potanin. “But there is one stand-alone problem — current payments on coupon payments, interest and amortization of loans where it is provided for by agreements.”