HANOI (Sputnik) – Russia's VTB bank and Gazprombank are holding talks on the restructuring of mining giant Mechel's debt, along with other Russian banks, VTB head Andrei Kostin announced on Monday.
"We are working with Mechel, discussions continue, we are also holding talks with other banks, including Gazprombank, trying to find some kind of a solution, but so far I cannot say that we have a deal," Kostin said.
According to the VTB head, Mechel's readiness to pay off its overdue debt is a positive development.
Mechel, which is one of the world's leading mining and metals companies, lost over 75 percent of its market value last year as it struggles to repay the remaining debt in excess of $6 billion to lenders, including Russia's state-run VTB, as well as the country's first and third largest banks — Sberbank and Gazprombank.
Last month, Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that Mechel's bankruptcy was unavoidable.
Mechel was founded in 2003. The company has coal, iron, ore and other production facilities in 11 Russian regions.
