Rosneft confirmed to analysts and investors that it will pay back a US$2bn bond in the coming days.
The buyside had been waiting anxiously to see whether two Russian state-owned companies, Rosneft and Gazprom, were willing and able to pay back their US dollar bonds.
News was particularly slow coming on Rosneft's note, which matured on Sunday. But sources said the company confirmed on Monday that the payment will be made to creditors on March 9, following public holidays in Russia on March 7–8. The company said it had made the transfer to the settlement bank on March 3.
Also on Monday, Bloomberg reported that creditors had received their funds from Gazprom to redeem its US$1.3bn note.
Gazprom, which is continuing to export gas to Europe through Ukraine, wired the necessary monies, including that to cover the bond repayment due on March 7, to its settlement bank on February 28 – that, significantly, was after the war began. The company, which is also due to make a coupon payment on a Swiss franc bond on Monday, is a regular issuer in international markets and bankers said it would want to maintain goodwill with investors, even though sanctions against it mean any new foreign currency issuance is highly unlikely for the foreseeable future.
Over the weekend, Russia's finance ministry said it would service and pay sovereign debts in full and on time but that payments could be hampered by the international sanctions.
Interfax also reported over the weekend that holders of external debt from Russia-based issuers will receive payments in roubles and could convert the money into the original currency of payment only with the approval of authorities.
Gazprom did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rosneft could not immediately be reached for comment.