European energy and utilities companies' debt swells to over 1.7 trillion euros
YEREVAN, July 18, /ARKA/. European energy and utilities companies are racking up more debt to cover the cost of soaring oil and gas prices, Tass news agency reported with reference to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, their overall debt, which has been climbing since the pandemic, has swelled this year to more than 1.7 trillion euros ($1.7 trillion) — more than a 50% jump from before 2020.
Most recently, Germany’s Uniper SE looks set to need about 9 billion euros in funds and Czech power firm CEZ CP is seeking up to 3 billion euros to weather the energy crisis. At least 24 billion euros of financing is in the works for the sector.
The region’s power companies raised 45 billion euros of bonds and 72 billion euros of loans during the first six months of the year, according to Bloomberg data.
Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that sanctions against Moscow are aggravating the situation in the world energy and food markets, making it difficult to export food and fertilizers. -0-
