Russ Oil-Gas

RBC, 03.11.2006, Moscow 11:45:59.Gazprom placed two bond issues on Thursday, each amounting to RUR5bn (approx. USD187m), the company's press office reported. According to analysts, securities with a three-year maturity period were the most popular and bought entirely by foreign investors. An annual coupon rate of 6.79 percent was set on A7 series securities with a three-year maturity period, and the coupon rate for the A8 series with a five-year maturity period was set at 7 percent. The rate of return on series A7 bonds was 6.91 percent, and from series A8 7.12 percent. The bid book for securities with three-year maturity was oversubscribed by almost double and amounted to RUR9.6bn (approx. USD344m). Bids for securities with a five-year maturity period amounted to half as much, with investors placing demands for RUR7.4bn (approx. USD277m). Analysts said that on the Russian stock market the high demand for securities with a three-year maturity period is due to a small spread between the rates for securities with three- and five-year maturity periods.