Gerashchenko says no Russian co has funds to buy Yuganskneftegaz

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 8 (Prime-Tass) -- No Russian companies could afford to buy Yuganskneftegaz, the key production unit of Russian oil major Yukos, even if it was sold for U.S. $10 billion, Yukos’ Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko told an investment symposium late Thursday.
He said that Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), the investment banking arm of Germany’s Dresdner Bank AG, has already completed the appraisal Yuganskneftegaz' assets, adding that the company was valued at $15.7-17.4 billion.
Gerashchenko said the Russian government did not expect the appraisal to value Yuganskneftegaz so highly and would do its best to reduce the price for the company.
Gerashchenko also said that Yukos had to halt oil exports to China due to their low profitability, which was mainly caused by higher oil export duties.
Neither Yukos’ management nor its board of directors wanted the company to go bankrupt, Gerashchenko said.
Gerashchenko said that the dispute between the state and the company concerns not only the payment of tax debt. If the government was only concerned with Yukos paying its tax debt, it would initiate talks with the company and Yukos would be able to cover its tax debt for 2000 worth 99.4 billion rubles by mid-October, Gerashchenko said.
"It is not a matter of money, it is a matter of ownership," he said.
Yukos' total tax debt for 2000-2003 may reach $8-10 billion, a figure that could be repaid before July 2006, Gerashchenko said.
As of September 1, Yukos paid about 75 billion rubles to cover its tax debt for 2000, he said. (29.2204 rubles – U.S. $1)

(From : Prime TASS)