SOCHI, Russia, Sept 21 |
SOCHI, Russia, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Russia’s No.2 crude
producer LUKOIL will not list its shares in Hong Kong
next year due to legal restrictions, the company’s president
Vagit Alekperov said on Friday.
Moscow-listed LUKOIL, which already has a secondary listing
in London, was looking to list existing shares worth more than
$1 billion in Hong Kong next year. But Alekperov said the
company had decided to postpone the decision.
“We have delayed the listing at an additional stock
exchange, it won’t happen in 2013,” Alekperov told reporters on
the sidelines of a conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Some bankers have dubbed the practise of listing without
issuance of new shares an expensive marketing exercise.
For companies looking to increase their profile among Asian
investors a secondary listing or listing by introduction in Hong
Kong may be less expensive than an IPO, but because there is no
new issuance of stock, trading volumes tend to be thin, limiting
their appeal.
“We have been faced with a number of legal complications
concerning the Hong Kong listing due to an agreement, which
curbs placement of Russian companies on the Hong Kong stock
exchange. For now, we are monitoring the process,” Alekperov
said.
The company’s board will in October discuss paying an
additional dividend, he said, adding it is possible Lukoil will
pay 25 percent of its first-half net income in dividends.
LUKOIL has said it may start paying dividends biannually,
instead of once a year as it has done so far.
(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin;
Editing by Mark Potter)