Waiting for investments
16.08.2010 (17:49)
FESCO Transport Group's deal to sell its shares in the National Container Company (NCC) is to bring benefit to all participants. Both companies have announced their plans to make major investments and to strengthen their market positions. However, figures are not mentioned yet.
NCC Press Service has announced that after a new shareholder comes, the company will resume implementation of its investment program to develop terminals. Their investments will not be limited to the construction of Ust-Luga container terminal which was the cause of the conflict between the former NCC shareholders. A construction of the new 200-metres-high berth is expected by the First Container Terminal (FCT), also NUTEP's front railway will be replaced and motorway will be built there, and other large-scale projects will be implemented. Alexander Voronkov, Expert from the National Container Terminal Press Service, told RZD-Partner.Ru that there are no major changes expected in the strategy or personnel. A buyer of FESCO's shares is not officially named, although First Quantum (the group which owns 50% in NCC) explained that the shares previously owned by FESCO have now been acquired by Andrew Kobzar's company, which had participated in the group's projects in the past. "I have returned to the container business with these investment asset," said Mr Kobzar via his group's press-service.
It is unclear yet where FESCO is going to allocate the received $ 800 million. Formal comments cannot be expected before the September executive board meeting.
Konstantin Romanov, analyst from Finam, believes that about $300 million will be allocated to repay the company's debt, which amounts to about $670 million "The remaining $370 is long-term borrowings, which do not require immediate repayment, the analyst noted. In his opinion, the sale of the assets raises a number of questions for the company to reply, and the main one is the future of the development strategy, whereby FESCO positioned itself as a national intermodal transport operator. The company used to point out that one of its competitive advantages was its own terminals in major ports of Russia and the CIS, but now, after selling its shares in NCC, this statement sounds (to put it mildly) too bravely. Mr Romanov considers it possible that the received financial resources will be allocated to buy assets in those companies which own the terminal. The analyst believes that otherwise it will be necessary to take up radical changes in business approaches, which is unlikely from FESCO, taking into consideration that the company is just starting to recover from the crisis. However, Nadezhda Malysheva, General Director of Portnews agency, believes that the conditions were stipulated during the transaction, that this transport group's shipping division could retain its former privileges at NCC's terminals at least temporarily. Thus, FESCO management will receive more freedom in actions and will have an opportunity to invest in acquisition of rolling stock or other projects, which the company had announced previously.
Dmitry Hantsevich
Print version
Maintaining the existing volume of investment RZD will not be able to transport about 230 million tons of cargo by 2015, said Vadim Mikhailov, a senior vice president, in Sochi while opening the roundtable on investment in rail infrastructure that was a part of the VI International Business Forum "Strategic Partnership 1520".
As it is known, RZD has announced that it has a lack of about 447 billion rubles for the development of infrastructure by 2015. What are the possible mechanisms for financing transportation infrastructure, are they are available for rail industry of Russia and what obstacles are there in the way of its implementation?
The model of public-private partnership (PPP) can be considered to have come into effect in our country. Despite the crisis and relative newness of such interaction between businesses and the Government in Russia, no major transport infrastructure projects based on concession agreements have been terminated. PPP is showing itself to be able to effectively solve its main task of attracting other than budgetary funding.
New ferry line was opened in Ust-Luga port in January, 2012. Now ships will go by route Russia - Finland - Denmark. Ferries of Finnish company Finnlines will transport cargoes, including containers from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
It seems that the idea of reduction of quantity of the operator companies from sphere of abstract discussions has passed in a plane of practical decisions. Project of document is published on website of the Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation. In case of its realization the structure of operator’s community can be changed considerably. 
RZD JSC network contract can be formed in 2015. This was announced at the plenary discussion of the “Transport Service Market: cooperation and partnership” IX International Conference by Valeriy Reshetnikov, Senior Vice-President of RZD JSC.
