Aluminium group Rusal, which is majority owned by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch, has cut the investment risk in its initial public offering after a critical $4.5bn (?2.8bn) refinancing.
The Russian company was expected to close the book in Hong Kong late on Thursday, with the offering now expected to be priced at the higher end of the HK$10.8 to HK$12 (86p to 95p) indicated range.
Rusal, which is the world's largest aluminium producer, is floating 11pc of the company, or 1.6m shares.
The $4.5bn loan from Russian state-controlled bank VEB was in danger of derailing the listing. In the prospectus, Rusal said that the company could cease to be a going concern unless a refinancing was successful.
German Gref, chief executive of Russian bank Sberbank, said on Thursday that it had agreed to refinance the loan on an equal basis with VEB. Rusal has significant debts of about $14.9bn, owed to 70 banks and the listing will raise funds to reduce this debt pile.
Rusal is the first non-Asian company to have its primary listing on the Hong Kong Exchange. However, because of the large amount of debt the company is carrying, Hong Kong regulators granted approval for the listing with the caveat that private investors be excluded.
If successful, a number of Russian companies could list in Hong Kong. The shares will begin trading on January 27.
豫公网安备41010502003434号