A Gazprom 50% dividend payout changes the game

Needing money, the Kremlin wants state-controlled firms to raise dividends again. It’s a risky move for investors

The Russian government is considering hiking dividends paid by Gazprom and other state-controlled companies to 50% of profits as part of a push to plug a gaping hole in its budget. Such a move to double the pay-out made by energy monopoly Gazprom under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) should send stock prices surging as well as help feed the budget. But foreign portfolio managers have been spun this “investor friendly” story before, and should be wary. The government has been gradually raising the level of dividend payments since the beginning of the decade but plans to radically increase pay-outs were announced in early 2013 when Russia was still trying to transform Moscow