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British group threatens boycott of Rosneft's London listing: report
AFP
LONDON
Petroleumworld.com 04 28 06
F and C Asset Management, one of Britain's biggest investment groups, has threatened to boycott the possible London listing of Russian oil producer Rosneft, the Financial Times reported Friday.
Karina Litvack, head of corporate governance and socially responsible investment at F and C, said that the initial public offering -- expected to raise at least 15 billion dollars (12 billion euros) -- raised serious questions of governance and legal risk, according to the FT.
"Investors should tread carefully when considering investing in Rosneft," Litvack was quoted as saying by the business daily. "The Russian legal regime is opaque and difficult to navigate."
"We don't pretend to understand it and if we cannot understand something, we won't invest in it," she added.
"Unless Rosneft can provide us with credible assurances that it has identified, and made adequate provisions for, any liabilities stemming from the acquisition of its Yuganskneftegaz assets, we won't be interested."
Rosneft was a small, state-owned oil group that became the third-biggest producer in Russia after the acquisition of assets from peer Yukos, which was broken up after a legal investigation.
The company has been dogged by controversy since its purchase of Yuganskneftegaz in December 2004.
According to recent unconfirmed reports, Rosneft is expected to list on stock markets in Mosow and London later this year.
Earlier this week, the group's president, Sergei Bogdanchikov, sought to reassure investors over the issue of governance.
Speaking on the sidelines of a London economic conference on Russia, he told reporters on Monday that Rosneft's supervisory board would have three independent members, but did not specify when they would be appointed.
AFP 28 04 06 0801 GMT
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