Deripaska’s plan for Rusal flotation hits a setback
RUSSIAN tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s plan to float his aluminium business UC?Rusal hit another hurdle yesterday, when the Hong Kong Stock Exchange delayed a ruling that needs to go in the firm’s favour before it can list.
Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium company, is poised to secure a $17bn debt restructuring package that it hopes will pave the way for a $3bn flotation in Hong Kong next week. But it must now wait for the stock exchange to decide whether it can list on 7 December.
A successful debt rescheduling for Russia’s Rusal is regarded as crucial for the country’s economy, which has suffered in the aftermath of the collapse in global commodity prices.
Oligarch Deripaska has endured a difficult year with his fortune falling from a reputed $28bn in 2008 to $3.5bn, according to some estimates.
The Rusal float was originally scheduled to have taken place in London, where it would have joined a number of Russian mining firms. But adverse market conditions in late 2007 scuppered the plan.