As bond market conditions have deteriorated, corporates have turned increasingly to syndicated loans. Ben Aris reports from Moscow.
Russian companies are hungry for capital. Thanks to the country’s return to grace, they have been able to tap the international capital markets to raise money for investment projects or to replace short-term expensive loans with long-term cheap credits. Last year, Russian corporate Eurobonds were all the rage but this year bonds have been overtaken in popularity by syndicated loans, volumes of which increased from the $700 raised in 2001 to the $6bn raised last year.
