Russia may face a wave of corporate bankruptcies this year, as the share of enterprises
with risky debt levels has doubled in 2024. This is stated in an analysis by the Russian Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasts (CMAKP), which is among the leading consultants to the Russian government, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"The Russian economy is facing the threat of a large-scale increase in corporate bankruptcies," analysts from CMAKP said. They note that by the end of 2024, a quarter of companies are likely to have reached risky levels of their liabilities.
The warning comes against a backdrop of high inflation in Russia and a slowdown in economic growth.
Many Russian companies complain that high interest rates on the loans they have taken out have increased their costs of servicing their loans. The Russian Central Bank raised its key interest rate to 21 percent last year. This is the highest level of the indicator in more than 20 years. The increase in the key interest rate was taken to control high inflation in Russia, which reached 9.5 percent in 2024, Reuters notes.
Against this backdrop, Russia's largest mobile operator announced in November last year that its profit in the third quarter of 2024 had fallen by 88.8 percent due to its higher costs for interest payments on loans.
Russian state railway company RZD announced that this year it must pay $4 billion more to cover interest on its loans.