A Moscow court pressed ahead today with a hearing to decide whether Russian oil giant YUKOS would foot a $3.4 billion tax bill after rejecting a call by the company for a postponement of the case.
Shares in the company, whose former chief executive and key shareholder, Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky, went on trial for fraud and tax evasion on Wednesday, held firm after yesterday's near 35-per cent gain when President Vladimir Putin said his government would save the company from bankruptcy.
"It seems that the government is more amenable to letting YUKOS pay its tax bill over time but it is not over yet and there could still be future tax bills to come," said Mr Scott Semet, head of research at MDM Bank in Moscow.
"Just as the pessimism was overdone now the optimism is being overdone."
He made his remarks after a flood of reports from brokers and investment bankers saying YUKOS's prospects were now transformed after Mr Putin's remarks and that the spectre of bankruptcy had receded.
YUKOS had asked the court to postpone the hearing. Its managers say any order to pay the tax bill may force it into bankruptcy.
Mr Putin said the Russian leadership had no interest in sinking one of Russia's biggest firms and that the government would try to prevent this.