NSPK privatization is again postponed – Finance – Kommersant
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The bankers are asking the Bank of Russia to finally carry out the IPO of the NSPK, which was promised, but is constantly being postponed. Experts believe that the placement of shares can be successful due to profitability and the “good name” of the company, although they point to risks. However, the regulator once again postpones the discussion of the issue.
The National Payment Card System (NSPK) needs to conduct an IPO, Alfa-Bank CEO Vladimir Verkhoshinsky said on Thursday at the Finopolis forum. The Central Bank will return to the discussion of this issue in two years, said Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank. “We believe that it is cost-effective, we just need to determine the time when to do this, taking into account the development of NSPK products and services,” she pointed out. perhaps even with some of his own ideas for the development of the National Payment Card System.” The NSPK did not respond to a request from Kommersant about the timing of privatization.
NSPK was established in 2014. In 2015, it began to issue Mir cards. Now, against the backdrop of global sanctions in Russia, Mir cards are issued mainly, not counting the cards of payment systems of friendly countries. At the same time, all payments within Russia of any international systems, including Visa and MasterCard, go through the NSPK. In addition, NSPK is the operator of the Fast Payment System. Currently, NSPK is 100% owned by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. By law, its share cannot be reduced to less than 50% plus 1 share.
Last year, the Russian authorities already discussed the issue of NSPK privatization, and this was far from the first time since the company was founded. Then it was proposed to transfer 50% plus 1 share of NSPK from the Central Bank to the government, and divide the rest among systemically important participants in the payment market. The Ministry of Finance liked the option of privatizing 100% of the company as part of an IPO. However, the Central Bank was not ready for changes (see. “Kommersant” dated August 10).
Meanwhile, experts are confident that NSPK’s IPO will be successful. Thus, the investment strategist of Arikapital Management Company Sergey Suverov believes that NSPK is a very profitable organization, in addition, the IPO of NSPK can be sold to the market as a placement of a company that is a beneficiary from the withdrawal of Western payment systems from Russia. The Russian stock market is currently low liquidity, but to place a good name with a reasonable volume, about 10-15% of the capital, perhaps Russian individuals and institutional investors can buy papers, he added.
Anna Avakimyan, chief analyst at RegBlok, notes that banks, technology companies, as well as investors in Sberbank, VTB and Tinkoff, who want to diversify their investment portfolio, stand out among investors here. The company’s high return on equity of 35-40%, as well as the growth potential of the Mir card segment, speak in favor of the successful placement of NSPK shares, she adds.
However, experts point to certain risks. According to Dmitry Alexandrov, Managing Director of Ivolga Capital, NSPK is a rather small company with a profit of just under RUB 10 billion in 2021 and a capital of RUB 30 billion, so there are risks of price manipulation, especially if free-float turns out to be small.
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