Yukos' Main Subsidiary Up for Sale

 

By Lisa McAdams

Russia's justice ministry¹ has announced plans to break up giant oil and gas producer Yukos by selling its main subsidiary, Yuganskneftegas. The announced sale prompted an immediate² slide on the Russian stock market.

Russian Justice ministry spokesman, Alexander Buksman, says the decision to sell off parts of Yuganskneftegas, the core production unit of Yukos, is due to what he called the company's slow payment of billions of dollars of back taxes to the government.

Mr. Buksman characterized the dynamic of Yukos' payments as unsatisfactory and said the government had no choice but to move to sell off some of the company's more lucrative³ assets.

The Yuganskneftegas subsidiary is considered the crown jewel in the struggling Yukos empire and word of its sale sent a shiver through the Russian market.

Trading on Russia's Micex currency exchange was closed for one hour after Yukos share prices dropped more than 10- percent by mid-afternoon trading.

Many analysts⁵ attributed the price drop to a symbolic⁶ reaction to the 10-billion-dollar value the justice ministry assigned to Yuganskneftegas.

Anna Butenko is an oil and gas analyst⁴ with Moscow's Alfa Bank. She says the figure is well-below market.

"If it were normal circumstances, and we were just valuing Yugansk (neftegas) and everything was fine with the company, it is obviously lower than one might expect. I mean it is a below one-dollar per barrel valuation of reserves, which is low by even Russian standards."

Now that word of the sale is known, Ms. Butenko says the real question is whether the Russian government will go after the rest of Yukos' assets, thereby⁷ finishing off the company as it has been known.

Mr. Buksman with Russia's justice ministry revealed little else about the sale, including when, where or how it would be held. He also failed to mention if foreign firms would be allowed to compete. But he did defend the valuation given to Yuganskneftegas as fair.

Mr. Buksman said the German company that handled the figure estimating the subsidiary's worth was extremely reliable and, in his view, accurate.

Numerous Russian reports last month cited western and Russian analysts as estimating Yuganskneftegas' worth at $15 to $17billion.

Once Russia's largest and most successful oil company, Yukos is now mired⁸ in one legal proceeding⁹ after another, while two of its leading executives - former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and main shareholder¹⁰ Platon Lebedev - are in jail awaiting trial on multiple charges of tax evasion¹¹ and fraud.

The company's troubles with the Kremlin are widely believed to stem from Mr. Khodorkovsky's financing of opposition¹² political parties. The Kremlin denies the charge, saying all people from pensioners¹³ to wealthy businessmen must be equal before the law.

Lisa McAdams, VOA news, Moscow.
注释：
subsidiary 子公司
lucrative 有利的
shiver 碎裂，无法控制的颤抖
symbolic 象征的
reliable 可靠的
numerous 众多的

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

7 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

8 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

10 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

11 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句