New Projects and good prospects. will be the winner in 2004. IMO
25p in early 2004

gavdfc: We are up yet again. Bid/offer now 14.75/15.00p. Great stuff!

Excellent, now up 8.18% on the day. Thats some solid moves up in the last few days.

up 9.09%....

gavdfc: It's not enough. More please!

YUKOS awaits bailiffs as deadline passes
Thu 8 July, 2004 08:46



By Dmitry Zhdannikov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil exporter YUKOS is waiting for the government to start selling off its assets after missing a deadline to pay $3.4 billion (1.8 billion pounds) in back taxes.

The deadline expired at midnight after talks with the authorities failed to resolve the issue which analysts warn could sap enthusiasm to invest in Russia and undermine economic growth.

Bailiffs can now arrive at any moment at the company's Moscow headquarters or its operations, which pump a fifth of Russia's crude oil.

"We have no fresh news. We are waiting," YUKOS spokesman Alexander Shadrin said.

The oil giant says it could collapse by the end of the year under a tax bill that totals nearly $7 billion for 2000 and 2001. Analysts say that could rise to $10 billion after audits of 2002 and 2003.

The firm's future to a large extent depends on whether main shareholder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and other core owners who control YUKOS through holding firm Menatep, can reach a settlement with the Kremlin.

The politically ambitious Khodorkovsky is on trial for fraud and tax evasion and the charges against YUKOS are widely seen as part of a campaign against him by a Kremlin that tolerates little opposition.

Khodorkovsky's lawyer said on Wednesday that he had offered from his jail cell to give up control in return for the company's salvation but there was no word from officials.

"Khodorkovsky has the right to take a decision on behalf of all of us, and the (Kremlin) understands this perfectly well," Russian newspaper Vedomosti quoted a Menatep source as saying.

"They simply have no interest in these discussions. They don't have a united opinion of what to do with YUKOS now."

President Vladimir Putin pledged last month to try to prevent the firm's collapse, but legal blows have continued to rain down on YUKOS.

However, some analysts said bankruptcy looked a long way off.

"We believe the parties can still reach a compromise," Merrill Lynch said in a research note.

"Even if the government wanted to bankrupt YUKOS, a lack of experience with bankruptcy of this magnitude, unclear legislation and the fact the company has not exhausted all the legal means at its disposal ... indicate that YUKOS is unlikely to go bust," it added.

KHODORKOVSKY OFFER

A high-level YUKOS source said on Wednesday the company was in talks with officials on how to reach an amicable agreement and avoid bankruptcy.

But a YUKOS spokesman denied talks were going on and said the government had not responded to attempts to strike a deal.

"Unless the government gives us more time to pay back what we owe ... we will be, technically speaking, insolvent," said Hugo Erikssen, head of international information for YUKOS.

Many Russians may cheer the potential collapse of a company whose shareholders amassed huge fortunes in shady privatisations while most of the population was thrown into poverty after the Soviet Union collapsed.

But analysts say the selective bankruptcy of YUKOS could hurt everyone in a country banking on foreign investment to help double the size of the economy in this decade.

Money AM L2 showing now up 7.27%. You're getting greedy now Grevis! But so am I! Now showing up 8.18% again. Bid dropped then up again quickly!

Xmortal, not looking good for Yukos, wonder what will happen there. JKX's price also down, wonder if that had anything to do with Yukos.

Those buys get bigger by the minute! Delayed buy of 677,966 has just shown up.

grevis2,
have you got a passing interest in oil shares by any chance? !!,
that 677,996 shows up as a sell and the increase just dropped.
what do you think this could go to eventually?

inbs
Did you buy at 2p and are you still holding?

dexter01: I moved most of my funds in to oil stocks a few weeks ago as they seemed ready to take off. Previously I had a love affair with tech stocks but sold these when the mood changed. I will add that this was after making excessive profits. Having decided that oil stocks were in play, the difficult decision as always is picking the right one. Fortunately 50% went into PCI and so far that has paid off. As to where the price will end up, who can tell, but I have always believed in buying what the market wants. At the moment PCI fits that bill.

And the buys still keep coming in. Up 9.09% now. Good move Grevis changing into oil. Did the same with my ASC shares. Made a decent profit there from 10p up to 39p then decided to cash them in.

gavdfc: Glad to hear of your success. Also nice to see PCI breaking above 15p. Enjoy!

Holding above 15p would be excellent today. MM just bought another 250k at 15.25p.

gavdfc: Oils are certainly giving us a good run for our money. More please!

You're right there Grevis. Can see oil being an excellent sector to be in for quite a while yet. We've had an excellent run in this this week. More of the same through to Aug/Sept would be nice!

gavdfc: If they hit paydirt, then 15p will be a distant memory. The big boys evidently believe that PCI is on to something big and as long as they feel that way then I will stay with them.

I wouldn't think the institutions would invest in PCI if they didn't feel confident of the companies ability to find oil. IMO, the sp will move upwards to the drilling results later in the year. Don't think it will move as fast as this every day! But will still be moving up gradualy. If they can prove anything near 400mbl in Tunisia, I think 15p will seem very far off.

gavdfc : Oil is king at present. Nice to see both PCI and EEN charging forward. Trouble with all this fun is it's difficult to break away from the screen.

Better to be glued to the screen when it's blue and not red! Noticed EEN moving up. Am in SEY as well as PCI. Looking to get more SEY and taking a look at some other oils. Was in EEN earlier, lost a few but not too much. Seems to be doing better just now.

A 1m buy just through at 15.25p. Institutions again I wonder?