Tiraspol, 25 October. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The speculations around Moldovan Steel Works hinder the plant's work and the information that the state has ousted the Russian investor is not reliable. This statement was made by deputy director of MMZ Seymur Akhundzada yesterday on the First Pridnestrovian TV channel.
Akhundzada recalled that in February 2015 MMZ had been nationalised. It was reported earlier that the Russian owner from Alisher Usmanov's group of companies had asked not to spread information about the reasons of his withdrawal. The Supreme Council held a special meeting on this issue and made a decision to classify the problem of replacing the plant's owner. However, since January 2016 MPs and the TSV TV channel have begun to accuse the government of ousting the Russian investor from MMZ.
It is known, however, that afterwards the Russian businessman supplied the newest medical equipment to the country, which would have hardly been possible had he been, according to MPs, «ousted from the republic».
«A new version is likely to emerge soon — he is forced to do so," Akhundzada joked. He underscored that Alisher Usmanov's property was fabulous and it was almost impossible to deprive him of his assets.
It is argued today in the Supreme Council that the nationalisation of MMZ has worsened its financial position and decreased the plant's current assets compared to 2014. The reason, according to MPs, is a change in the scheme of selling finished goods and supplying metal scrap, as well as the involvement of a middleman company, to which MMZ sold goods at below-cost prices. However, according to official figures, the problem with Rybnitsa's parent plant originated well before 2015. MMZ's accounts payable, amounting to $180 million, was generated back in the period of Usmanov's ownership. Today, 95% of MMZ's assets are collateralised on these loans. The plant actually belongs to a lender, one of Usmanov's companies.
The deputy director explains that after the nationalisation it was necessary to launch the plant. That required investment.
«Attracting an investor to the region was a great victory for the government and the president. Today this is presented for some reason [by MPs] as a failure," said Akhundzada.
Earlier the Ministry of Economic Development explained that no investor had sought to invest directly in the plant because it was actually pledged as collateral. This caused the need to work through a middleman that granted commodity credits and provided current assets.
Ahundzada also notes that the investor granted a commodity loan of $40 million to MMZ through the Tirasmet company. In 2015 MMZ's account payables to Tirasmet was over $91 million. And until August 2016 Tirasmet paid all interests on loans. In 2015 alone the interests amounted to $840,000, says the deputy director.
«In 2015 the state invested 0 roubles 0 kopecks of hard cash in the plant. The investor alone was carrying this burden," eaplained Akundzada.
However, MPs are accusing the plant management of mismanagement and the government of crediting MMZ's losses. Obvious facts are being ignored at the same time: the loss was caused by the reduced difference between the sale price for the finished product and the purchase price for raw materials, the general crisis in the global steel industry and the high cost of the plant's products.
And at the same time, MPs' sharp remarks about the plant's work have not gone unnoticed. They have had a negative impact on MMZ's image and far-reaching consequences. Akhundzada says that in April a supplier company, which had worked with the plant for ten years and sold raw materials on credit, refused to work without prepayment.
«So many negative things are said about you that we doubt your paying capacity," the deputy director explains the partner's position. «It delayed the launch for a week. It should be borne in mind that one day of working or standing idle costs $70,000. In other words, because of careless statements the plant lost $500,000 in a week," said Akhundzada.
Moldovan Steel Works is a driving force of the Pridnestrovian industry and Rybnitsa's main employer. It was launched in 1985 and privatised in 2002. Until 2013 the main shareholders of the plant were the companies owned by Russian and Ukrainian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Rinat Akhmetov. Since 2013 it was owned by Usmanov's large Russian company Metalloinvest. In February 2015 MMZ was nationalised. In March 2015, the plant's management signed an agreement with Dubai Banking Group on $140 million worth of investments in the form of raw materials.
Today, amid the crisis in the global steel industry, the plant is going through a difficult period. The state is not only trying to maintain its work for the sake of profit but rather to preserve its production capacity and jobs. MMZ employs 2,468 persons. The plant has been actually a social project for ten years. However, the Ministry of Economic Development says that with $6.5 million worth of taxes paid in 2015, the overall effect of the MMZ work is positive for the country's economy. The enterprise consumes 40% of the electricity in the domestic market, making the corresponding payments.
