ING prepares 100m euro issue for CFR Infrastructura

ING Bank will broker the release of a bond issue by railway company CFR Infrastructura on the international capital markets. The issue should be worth some 100-150 million euros, sources on the banking market close to the talks told Ziarul Financiar. The money will be used to upgrade a number of railway sections located on the European transport corridor IV (Curtici-Giurgiu) and IX (Giurgiu-Suceava), which cross Romania.

International rating agency Moody’s has already assigned a B2 grade along with a stable outlook to the issue at the end of last week. The agency notes the about 120 million-euro issue of CFR Infrastructura is the first issue released by the company on the international capital markets without any security from the State.

The B2 mirrors the “company’s status and type of ownership, the expectations of Moody’s analysts that the Government would provide – should it be necessary, CFR with funds to enable it to fulfil its obligations, and on the other hand, the financial situation and low liquidity of the company,” Moody’s says.

The quoted sources say CFR Infrastructura’s bond issue will not be released by the end of this year.

CFR Infrastructura’s representatives could not be reached for comment by press time.

At present, the company has a new general manager, Florentina Stan, which replaced Mihai Necolaiciuc who resigned a week ago. He is now under investigation by the National Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office for charges of corruption related to the allocation of European funds for rehabilitating the infrastructure system. Necolaiciuc was appointed deputy general manager of the Railway Transport Department with the Ministry of Transports, Constructions and Tourism.

Back in December 2002, another state-run railway operator – CFR Marfa borrowed 120 million euros at 10.5% a year from the international markets.
adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro