AU
Russia fails to sell stake in gold miner UGC as no one bids at auction
The Russian state failed to auction a stake in gold producer Uzhuralzoloto (UGC) it had seized last year, a state auction website showed on Monday, saying that no one had submitted a bid.
A Russian court ruled last July that a majority stake in UGC, previously owned by businessman Konstantin Strukov, should be seized and transferred to the state, part of a wider pattern of nationalizations of assets of Russian companies.
The federal property management agency Rosimushchestvo put up Strukov’s assets for auction earlier this month, valuing them at 162.02 billion roubles ($2.22 billion). His former 67.2% stake in UGC – one of Russia’s top 10 gold miners – was valued at 140.43 billion roubles.
On Monday, the state auction website said the planned sale had failed.
“The bidding was declared invalid, as no applications for participation in the procedure were submitted at the end of the deadline for submitting applications,” the website said.
Rosimushchestvo said a new auction would begin on Tuesday, with the results to be announced on May 26.
It said this would be a Dutch auction, where the price is gradually lowered until someone places a bid. This could lead to the price of the UGC stake being reduced by up to 50% from the initial asking price, it said.
Prosecutors moved last year to seize the stake owned by Strukov after they accused him and several others of obtaining their property “through corruption.” However, he is not in custody and has not been formally charged.
The Finance Ministry is putting up a number of confiscated assets for auction, hoping to replenish the federal treasury.
In January Russia managed to sell one of the country’s largest and most modern airports, Moscow’s Domodedovo, to a subsidiary of another airport in the capital, Sheremetyevo, for 66 billion roubles – just half of its starting price of 132.3 billion roubles.
($1 = 72.9000 roubles)
(By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Hugh Lawson)
China’s biggest courier is set to open gold vault in Hong Kong
SF Holding Co., China’s biggest express delivery firm, is set to open a gold vault in Hong Kong to tap demand for storage as the city pushes forward with plans to become a precious metals hub.
The courier is planning to open the custodian vault within its complex near the airport in October, said people familiar with the matter. One section will comprise safe-deposit boxes for high-value assets, while the other will mainly be for precious metals, with a capacity of 50 to 100 tons, they said, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media.
SF did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Hong Kong is promoting itself as a trading, financing and storage hub for gold. It plans to launch a central clearing system for physical trading this year, expand vaulting capacity to 2,000 tons within three years, and encourage central banks to store bullion in the city. The Hong Kong exchange is also planning to relaunch bullion futures.
SF sees opportunities to tap a storage market that has been growing, thanks to demand from wealthy individuals and to government support, the people said. Hong Kong could also be a stepping stone toward broader expansion, they added.
The vault will not be SF’s first foray into commodities. The courier firm is a Shanghai Gold Exchange-certified logistics provider and a courier for large jewelry chains and mining companies in mainland China. In Hong Kong, it is the local partner of one of the first warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange last year to store base metals like copper.
SF is not yet a member of the London Bullion Market Association, a credential required by some dealers and banks when choosing logistics partners.
The precious metals logistics sector is dominated by a small group of companies, including Brink’s Global Services, Malca-Amit Group of Companies and Loomis AB.
(By Yihui Xie and Julian Luk)
No comments:
Post a Comment