En+ Group become a founding shareholder in the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's holding company En+ Group said yesterday it had become a founding shareholder in the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, acquiring a 10 percent stake in the bourse.
"We are glad to become a founding shareholder in HKMEx and take part in building Asia's exchange in Hong Kong - one of the region's most prominent financial hubs," the company quoted its first deputy chief executive officer Artyom Volynets as saying.
"This dovetails with our growth strategy at En+ Group to capture exciting new opportunities in Asian markets that can be served efficiently by our core portfolio in nearby eastern Siberia."
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Registered in 2008, the commodities exchange aims to capitalize on the Chinese mainland's growing demand for oil and other raw materials. Trading is expected to start later this year, the joint statement said.
Founded in 2005 as the energy division of Deripaska's Basic Element group, En+ Group owns stakes in a number of companies, including a 47.59 percent stake in the world's largest aluminum firm, UC Rusal. The firm, which did not disclose financial details of the transaction, said it would have one representative on the HKMEx board.
Deripaska's Rusal was the first Russian firm to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange and its US$2.2 billion (HK$17.16 billion) IPO earlier this year was the city's biggest by a company from outside Asia.