The world's largest aluminum producer Rusal said on August 10 that it has secured a credit line of $4.6 billion from Russia's largest bank Sberbank to cover debt repayments.
"The proposed credit covers the debt and interest due to VEB" for a bank loan taken out in 2008, Rusal said.
The Sberbank credit runs until December 2013 and can be extended for 18 months.
Rusal has been buffeted by the global economic slump which slashed demand for its products but it returned to profit in the first quarter with earnings of $247 million after what it said was "one of the toughest years" on record for the aluminum industry.
The VEB loan was extended to Rusal under an accord to help Russian companies generally as they struggled to survive the global meltdown, with the money used in turn to cover its purchase of a 25% stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel.
In December last year, Rusal reached agreement with its creditors on restructuring massive debts of $16.8 billion, clearing the way for a listing of its shares in Hong Kong.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
