Under Western Sanctions: Telegram's $500 Million Russian Bonds Frozen, Geopolitical Tensions Key Obstacle to Its IPO

According to reports from The Financial Times and other media outlets, the $500 million bonds issued by Telegram in Russia have recently been frozen by Western authorities. This incident directly exposes the difficult-to-sever financial ties between Telegram and Russia.

Although founder Pavel Durov publicly states that the company has maintained a long-term distance from the Russian government and has even relocated its headquarters out of Russia, the bond freeze indicates that, in the context of geopolitical conflicts, Western sanctions can quickly penetrate corporate structural designs and directly impact its capital operations.

It is understood that these frozen bonds were issued by Telegram in 2021 through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in the Russian market.

However, as Western sanctions against Russia have intensified, the Russian National Settlement Depository (NSD), which is part of Russia’s financial infrastructure, has been included on the sanctions list. As a result, the bonds held in custody and settlement by NSD have been "frozen."

This frozen batch of bonds not only directly hampers Telegram’s debt buyback plans but also raises market concerns about its financial flexibility and geopolitical risks.

Despite this sudden challenge, Telegram’s overall financial fundamentals remain strong. The company disclosed that its revenue in the past six months increased by 65% year-over-year, reaching approximately $870 million. Additionally, Telegram has been actively promoting the integration of its Ton ecosystem and preparing for an IPO.

However, its financial situation has also been affected by its own crypto ecosystem layout. Due to depreciation in the value of its associated investment project, Toncoin (TON), Telegram reported a net loss of $222 million on this project.

In summary, these series of events outline that Telegram, as a global application platform, has been striving to promote the integration of the Ton ecosystem and prepare for an IPO, aiming to demonstrate its business value without geopolitical constraints.

But due to legacy issues from early financing in Russia, Western sanctions have become an unavoidable risk on its balance sheet; and the deep contradictions between its ecosystem development and potential geopolitical risks are destined to be key obstacles for its future expansion into the global capital markets.

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