Russia Still Awaits First Listing In Hong Kong

Russia is to be kept waiting for its first Hong Kong listing after Rusal's proposed IPO hit a bump in the road, failing to gain approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx). The further delay of the IPO, which the world's largest producer of aluminium was hoping to complete before the end of Q409, comes as a slap in the face to the Russian government, who has publicly backed the debt-laden company. Against the backdrop of what some analysts consider an over-valued market, Moscow is essentially bailing out the flagship company. Following a US$4.5bn state loan to the firm last year, the government has agreed to participate in the IPO via state-backed lenders Sberbank and VTB, to the tune of around US$500mn.

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