Major aluminum company merger to be struck soon

A deal on combining the aluminum and alumina assets of RUSAL, SUAL, and Glencore may be completed by March 2007, SUAL's co-owner Viktor Vekselberg told Vesti 24 TV today. According to him, foreign business welcomes the creation of the new company in general but on the other hand is waiting to see how the three companies will proceed. Vekselberg added that the new company would be able to become competitive on the market on the best possible conditions, as well as further expanding its business. He also said that it was too early to talk about the new company's IPO.