Published: July 6, 2009
RusHydro, the world’s largest publicly traded hydro generational company, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), making it the first GDR listing on the LSE since February. Bank of New York Mellon is the depository bank.
The company’s securities are already traded on the Russian MICEX and RTS stock exchanges. In order to gain access to a wider range of international investors and to deepen liquidity, RusHydro has chosen to list a GDR on the LSE.
On July 6, the exchange’s markets were opened by Vasily Zubakin, acting chairman of the management board of RusHydro.
Zubakin said: “Our decision to pursue a London listing reflects our desire to tap into a large potential liquidity pool by making it easier for international investors to access our securities. We think that this move will significantly boost the liquidity of our depositary receipts. We also believe that this listing will help spur our development from a Russian blue chip company into a global emerging markets blue chip.”
Chris Gibson Smith, chairman of LSE group, said: “RusHydro is a good example of the increasingly complementary relationship between the Moscow and London markets, and of the growing international profile of Russian industry. The capacity of Russia’s markets to meet the initial capital-raising requirements of a broad range of its companies is well-established, and issuers like RusHydro are now turning to London to seek a broader base of international investors and the enhanced liquidity that can bring with it.“
RusHydro is now one of 47 GDRs from CIS issuers to be traded on the LSE’s International Order Book (IOB). GDRs issued by companies from the CIS accounted for 91% of the US$523bn traded on the IOB during 2008.
In 2006, LSE’s derivatives exchange, EDX London, launched its Russian IOB service, based on the most liquid Russian GDRs on its equity order books. 13.2mn contracts have been traded on the service so far this year, contributing to the liquidity of the underlying securities.