21 May 2004 00:42
Chukotka`s debts to be restructured in 2004 - official
"Calling Chukotka bankrupt is improper. The entire debt of 9.3
billion rubles accumulated before 2001. Much of it has been
MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - The Chukotka Autonomous District will have all its debts restructured before the end of
2004, a district government official said commenting on the Russian Auditing Chamber report describing the district as
effectively bankrupt.
restructured. In the last three years, the Cabinet reduced the debt by one billion rubles. As much as 1.3 billion
rubles of the district's debt to the federal budget in centralized credits and credits made available to us by
state agencies, in particular Rosrezerv, has been restructured. We have also signed amicable agreements with commercial
creditors covering 100 million rubles that we owe them. The district's government is continuing these activities
and plans to have the entire debt restructured as early as this year," the official said.
Speaking about charges leveled against the district claiming that it had granted too much in tax benefits, the
official said: "None of the Russian Federation's easy taxation areas are supposed to have investors meet such
high requirements."
By January 1, 2004, the Chukotka Autonomous District had received over 14 billion rubles under investment contracts.
"Using these funds, houses, services and social installations worth 8.5 billion rubles have been built and taken
over by the district. The social situation in the republic has improved as a result. The benefits have proved beneficial
to the district's economy as well. Even though easy taxation has been rescinded since the beginning of the year,
all the commitments made by the investors remain in force. In particular, installations worth over 5.6 million rubles of
the invested money will be added to the district's assets this year," the official said. [RU EUROPE ASIA EMRG
CRIM GVD] ap tj <>
[Interfax] |
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