OREANDA-NEWS. December 6, 2012. JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MICEX-RTS, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that the Company's Board of Directors held a meeting in absentia on November 30, 2012.

The Board of Directors approved the amendments to the financing structure of the Boguchansky Energy and Metals Complex (BEMO, a joint venture between RusHydro and UC RUSAL) through signing an Addendum to the loan agreement between the State Corporation Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Boguchansky aluminum smelter.

The Addendum provides for increase of project financing from VEB for completion of construction the first stage of the Boguchansky aluminum smelter with output capacity of 298 thousand tonnes of aluminium per year. Previously, VEB approved the financing that provided for construction of only ? of the smelter with output capacity of 147 thousand tonnes of aluminium per year.

The loan nominated in US dollars was increased from RUR 21.91 bn to RUR 47.196 bn[1]. The maturity of the loan was prolonged to December 20, 2027. As of the date of the signing the Addendum the interest is set at 8.77% p.a. In case a source of financing for the transaction is available, the interest can be set at 3 months LIBOR + 7.5%.

In late 2011, after additional deliberation, the parties to the joint venture made a decision to complete the construction of the first stage of the smelter in full (298 thousand tonnes).

In 2006, RusHydro and UC RUSAL signed an agreement on joint construction of the BEMO project, comprising the Boguchanskaya hydropower plant (annual average output 17.6 TWh) and aluminium smelter with annual output capacity of 600 thousand tonnes.

The Board of Directors approved the loan agreement between RusHydro, UC RUSAL and CJSC Boguchansky aluminium smelter, qualified as transaction which results in financial obligations in foreign currency.

According to the document, RusHydro and UC RUSAL provide CJSC Boguchansky aluminium smelter with RUR 16.8 bn on a 50/50 basis payable in RUR, but nominated in USD.

The loan is provided from December 1, 2015, to December 20, 2027; maturity – no earlier than December 20, 2027.

The Board of Directors also approved a number of transactions qualified as interested-party transactions. According to disclosure requirements, the full information regarding the parties and terms of these transactions can be disclosed only after they’re complete.

The Board of Directors approved the membership of RusHydro in non-commercial partnership Association of proprietors and investors in real estate and land. The membership fee in 2012 is RUR 300,000, the one-off participation fee is RUR 1.08 mn.

[1] The equivalent amounts in RUR are calculated based on the Russian Central Bank’s official USD/RUR exchange rate as at the date of signing of the initial Agreement and the Addendum, respectively.