Page 12 - bne_newspaper_July_26_2019

bne Invest
July 26, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
Russia's Uralkali rallies ahead of rumoured delisting
The capitalisation of Russian fertiliser major Ural- kali has jumped by 36% since July 19 to RUB352bn, with the company's shares rallying on the Moscow Exchange on no apparent triggers or catalysts.
Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti daily cited rumours of another upcoming share buyout and possible delisting of Uralkali, especially given low liquidity of the freefloat reacting sharply to even small trade volumes.
Russia's Sberbank acquired a 10.18% stake in Uralkali in Decemer 2018, but in June 2019 it accepted the offer of Rinsoco Trading Co to repurchase the shares.
Rinsoco Trading, affiliated with Belarusian businessman Dmitri Lobyak, owned 10.18% of Uralkali's ordinary shares and then increased the stake back to over 20%. Another 20% of the company's shares are owned by Dmitry Mazepin, the company’s former boss. About 56.7% of the shares are treasury shares, and 3.2% of the shares are still traded on the Moscow Exchange.
The largest shareholders of Uralkali decided to delist back in 2017, with a number of buybacks not wel- comed by analysts given high costs and the increas- ing treasury stake. Uralkali and another fertiliser major Uralchem, also controlled by Mazepin, are toy- ing with the idea of an IPO on foreign exchanges in the future to lower the debt of the companies.
Uzbekistan presents reform agenda and capital market opportunities to Wall Street
New York on July 22 hosted “Opportunities
in the capital markets of Uzbekistan”, an investment forum organised by the Uzbek Capital Market Development Agency and the Embassy
of Uzbekistan in the United States, Jahon information agency reported.
The event was attended by more than 140 participants, including representatives of the largest American portfolio investors, leading investment and management companies, including Citibank, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, and Dentons. Uzbek officials presented their reform agenda to some of the biggest names on Wall Street in a private Manhattan club – such an event would have been impossible three years
ago, before Uzbekistan embarked on a drive to open up the country to foreign investors.
The event was also attended by 20 leading companies in Uzbekistan as they were planning to place securities.
At the event, director of Uzbekistan's Capital Market Development Agency Atabek Nazirov held a panel discussion, where he updated the Wall Street community about reforms on the nation's local stock and bond market along upcoming privatisations. Nazirov, a former Goldman Sachs banker in New York, was invited by the Uzbek government to help develop the country's
market laws.