Ryskina said she was going to hold a number of meetings in London to discuss eurobonds.
The eurobonds, worth a total $170 million, were issued in late July with the annual coupon yield of 6.5% and maturity in 2008. Britain's Barclays Capital investment bank is the lead-manager of the eurobond issuance.
Ryskina said 72 investors from countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, and Portugal have purchased the eurobonds. She added that the Russian Development Bank would implement other loan programs at the domestic and foreign markets late this year and early next year. The programs will be related to specific projects in transport infrastructure, telecommunications, engineering, construction, housing and utilities, to involve small and medium-sized businesses.
Ryskina said the state would remain the bank's major shareholder (now, 100% of the bank's stock is state-owned). "According to our charter, the state shall own at least 75%. We were planning to sell part of the stock to partners, such as the EBRD, but... the [privatization] strategy is to be set by the government as our major shareholder."
As of December 31, 2004, the Russian Development Bank's assets aggregated $316 million and its net worth was $212 million. In June 2005, the Moody's international rating agency raised the bank's long-term rating from Ba3 to Ba1, with a positive outlook.
