ALUMINUM FINANCING – Rusal raises US$2.6 billion

MOSCOW - RUSAL, the world's third largest aluminum producer, has closed a record-breaking syndicated credit facility. The loan has been oversubscribed, with a total order book over US$2.6 billion, substantially exceeding the initial mandate of US$1.5 billion, following strong demand from a wide range of international banks.

The funds will be used to refinance Rusal's existing debt, support the company's capital investment program, and for general corporate purposes.

The facility for Rusal is the largest syndicated loan for a non-oil private corporate in Russia to date. It also represents one of the largest-ever aluminum pre-export financings in the world, and is one of the largest international financings in Russia in 2006.

Rusal (www.rusal.com) has headquarters in Moscow and operations in nine regions of Russia and 13 foreign countries. It produces approximately 2.7 million tonnes of primary aluminum and alloys, or 75% of the Russian output. See also CMJ August/September 2004 for background on the company.