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Possible new product name idea - “Akhmat-ivia”?
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/chechen-leaders-nephew-new-head-russias-danone-subsidiary-media-2023-07-19/
First time I’ve seen some coverage around the financial situation in Russia which doesn’t follow the “everything is fine” message. Snippet below.
“For the first time, the intention of the Ministry of Finance to start reducing costs became known two weeks ago. The proposal at the meeting of the commission on budgetary designs was presented by the head of the department Anton Siluanov. He explained it by the growing gap between budget revenues and expenditures, and, according to the official present at the meeting, the calculations did not take into account the seriously weakened ruble and the new social spending on which President Vladimir Putin insists.
On July 18, Deputy Finance Minister Irina Okladnikova warned of the inevitable increase in public debt. According to her, given the need to increase social benefits, support the economy, finance military spending, as well as maintain four new regions, it will not be possible not to increase borrowing, this is a "hopeless situation".”
https://m.lenta.ru/news/2023/07/19/front/
I’m surprised you’re still posting Toffers after saying about this time last week that people should sell before close because there was no way a UK auditor would be able to audit the accounts, NOMAD would walk etc.
I’ve not read all the messages for today so apologies if you have already taken ownership of getting that completely wrong. Was that why you were banned or was due to one of your other posts?
From 10-13th July. Hopefully they’ll have given the dragline a wash and buffed up the For Sale sign in case there’s any passing visitors.
“According to the memorandum signed in Beijing by representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Commerce of the CN and the People's Government of Heilongjiang Province, the Russian-Chinese EXPO is held alternately in Harbin and Yekaterinburg.
EXPO is becoming a key communication platform for the regions of Russia and China. The exhibition allows you to give impetus to the development of interaction, study the available opportunities, build a direct dialogue with representatives of business circles, conclude mutually beneficial agreements.”
https://www.expoclub.ru/db/exhibition/view/6696/
I think it was VAT Scuba mentioned previously Scuba but I may not have seen the same thing as you as couldn’t see an amount. It also mentions possible VAT reclaim on historical capex at WK in the accounts too.
For me I’d rather not pay the mineral extraction tax until I knew if the appeal against the rate was going to be successful. Clearly if that took too long they’d need to sell it before the decision was made and take the hit.
Perhaps waiting for a response as to the below from page 61 rather than paying the tax and hoping to get it refunded if there’s a positive decision?
Mineral extraction tax** 1,953,851
** Mineral extraction tax contains a provision of £1,652,122 reflecting a recent change to mineral tax legislation and its application to the product of the West Kytlim mine. This is made as a conservative measure as the Group is taking the necessary steps to have the decision reconsidered
——————
With regards to whether sanctions were an issue - I’d expect the auditor to have flagged that in their report.
Whatever the case, I’ll be happier when the concentrate is sold and hopefully with a lower tax rate applied because it makes a big difference to EUA and any potential buyer.
In addition to the “proposal” RNS, the notes in the 2020 accounts (events after the reporting period) also said “The Company received an expression of interest regarding a potential substantial asset sale in May 2021”.
Why the term EOI is used and what it means is up for debate (maybe pointless now) but you can google EOI in the context of M&A and the first definition I see says it’s an early stage document that includes a non binding offer.
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/valuation/what-is-expression-of-interest-eoi/#:~:text=An Expression of Interest (EOI) is one of the initial,company through a formal offer.
Hi Fish4Chips, regarding what the funds were used for, the note in the accounts says the below.
“Advances made in 2022 were used to acquire earth moving machineries, fund mine operating cost and exploration programme”
It’s possible they were looking at how best to proceed while the issue of how MET is being reviewed or it could be due to way the refiners were calculating the payments? Might be a question to ask at the AGM.
“** Mineral extraction tax contains a provision of £1,652,122 reflecting a recent change to mineral tax legislation and its application to the product of the West Kytlim mine. This is made as a conservative measure as the Group is taking the necessary steps to have the decision reconsidered.”
“Amounts due from related parties are non-interest bearing and are repayable on demand. Advances made in 2022 were used to acquire earth moving machineries, fund mine operating cost and exploration programme.”
Funds not hidden away in Cyprus then... That’s another AIMO down the toilet 🤦
Doesn’t this apply?
“However, we would offer the following points on some common scenarios:
Where a UK auditor is providing standardised material to members of a group, or their auditors, for the purpose of the audit of the UK group accounts, and the group includes a Russian subsidiary, then the service of providing this material would generally not be considered within scope of the ban. Meanwhile, where bespoke material is provided for the audit of the specific subsidiary, this may qualify as the provision of auditing services to a person connected with Russia.
Where a UK company that is consolidating group accounts receives an audit report for a Russian subsidiary from a local Russian auditor, then this is generally considered the receipt and not the delivery of a service. This generally would not be considered within scope of these export bans.
If the UK company or its auditor wished to undertake any activities beyond the receipt of the report, such as discussing its contents with the subsidiary or local auditor in Russia, then we suggest they take independent legal advice and consider whether a person connected with Russia (as defined in the Regulations) is a direct or indirect recipient of audit services as a part of that interaction”
Another battery metals deal - $1.4b investment, this one being Lithium focussed.
https://www.marketscreener.com/amp/business-leaders/Daniel-Ramos-20513/news/Bolivia-taps-China-Russia-s-Rosatom-in-bid-to-unlock-huge-lithium-riches--44234391/
Apparently the case against Prigozhin has not been dropped at this point.
"The case has not stopped, the investigation is ongoing," said the agency's interlocutor.
https://www.interfax.ru/russia/908984