Shares of Gazprom Soar

The Times of London reports on the Russian energy giant:

SHARES in Gazprom, the Russian energy company in which the Kremlin owns a 51 per cent stake, have soared 17 per cent in the past three days after Western investors were given the green light to purchase as much as 29 per cent of the business.
From this week foreign investors can trade in Gazprom’s locally listed shares, giving them access to 49 per cent of the company, after President Putin finally unveiled his long-awaited liberalisation of Gazprom’s equity structure. Previously, foreign investors could have legally traded only in the small amount of Gazprom shares listed abroad. Braver investors could have bought and sold locally listed shares through “grey trading schemes”, but big Western investors steered clear of these.
At a stroke, the liberalisation of Gazprom’s equity has created the biggest and most liquid stock in emerging market indices, meaning that billions of dollars from index-tracking institutional investors will now flow into the company. The stock rose 160 per cent last year in anticipation of the move, and has risen a further 17 per cent this week.
Bob Foresman, head of investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Moscow, said: “It’s no surprise (that) foreign investors find the stock so attractive. It’s the biggest hydrocarbon company in the world and, as of this week, foreign investors can finally get proper exposure to it.”

Here’s a three-year price chart for Gazprom.

Posted by on January 12th, 2006 at 9:21 am


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