Rusal, an Aluminum Maker, Strikes Restructuring Deal With Creditors

This article by Andrew Kramer talks about the restructuring of the debt of the Russia's aluminium giant - Rusal, which is the remains of the Chernoy's aluminium monopoly. Rusal is the largest aluminum producer in the world, which is struggling under $16.7 billion in debt. Now it has agreed with about 70 banks to restructure its loans and begin repayments when earnings improve. "The deal, apparently on lenient terms for Rusal and its owner, the Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska, also clears the way for Rusal to take the next step back from the brink of bankruptcy: selling 10 percent of the company in an initial public offering this month." The unavoidable question is, whether this initial public offering is going to really improve the situation since from the Russian experience it is unclear, who is going to own these 10 percent?

The article also displays the struggle of the Russian industry, which, as a legacy to the Soviet Union, is extremely inefficient and corrupted. Most of the Russian industrial giants are currently undergoing the same problems, which mostly lie in the systematic deficiencies of the Russian economy.