Russia plans bankruptcy law reform - FT

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Russia plans to overhaul its bankruptcy laws to help crisis-hit companies survive financial restructuring without being broken up, the Financial Times quoted an adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev as saying.

Economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich said less than 10 of 100 Russian companies that had gone through bankruptcy procedures had survived as going concerns.

He told the newspaper the government would present new bankruptcy legislation to the Duma to be passed into law by the end of the year.

"In future, the focus will be on creating efficient financial rehabilitation procedures, which are almost not used right now," the paper quoted Dvorkovich on Monday as saying.

It said the government was responding to fears for Russia's legions of debt-laden companies which face repayments of about $130 billion over the next year to domestic and foreign banks.

Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had made clear that their top priority was to prevent companies from closing and throwing employees out of work, it said.

Dvorkovich also dismissed suggestions from bankers that the level of non-performing loans in Russia could rise to 30 per cent of assets, the paper said, predicting the figure would rise only to 10-15 per cent.

He also urged banks to "continue working with companies to restructure loans and not to put companies into more difficult situations".

"With the expectation that the global recovery will start in 2010, it's quite rational to take this approach," Dvorkovich said. (Editing by Nick Macfie)

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