U.S. extends deadline for sanctioned Russian firms to January

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday said it was extending the deadline for the divestiture of holdings of sanctioned Russian companies EN+ , Rusal <0486.HK> and Gaz PAO until Jan. 7, 2019.

The move extends licenses relating to the sanctioned firms to authorise activities needed to wind down operations or existing contracts as well as licenses to authorise transactions needed to divest debt, equity and other holdings, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department's website.

(Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey; Editing by Tom Brown)