Glencore reviews equity stakes in Russian companies En+ and Rosneft (updated)
01/03/2022 20:00
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By Clara Denina
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Miner and trader Glencore
GLEN.L said on Tuesday it is reviewing all its business
activities in Russia including equity stakes in aluminium and
hydropower group En+ Group ENPLq.L and oil giant Rosneft
ROSN.MM .
The London-listed miner has a 10.5% stake in EN+, is
majority owner of aluminium producer Rusal RUAL.MM , and has a
0.57% stake in Rosneft.
"We have no operational footprint in Russia and our trading
exposure is not material for Glencore," it said in a release.
A series of Western companies has been severing ties with
Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, under pressure from
governments and shareholders.
Major oil producers Shell SHEL.L , BP BP.L and Equinor
EQNR.OL all decided to halt or abandon Russian business
ventures and investments. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V20PR
In February, Glencore, which trades millions of barrels of
oil a day, sold out of Russian oil group RussNeft RNFT.MM ,
because it was no longer material to its business, capping two
decades of investments.
A new leadership at Glencore is reshaping the company after
the old guard, led by ex boss Ivan Glasenberg and former head of
oil Alex Beard, kept close ties with Moscow for two decades.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017 awarded state
medals to Glasenberg after Glencore and Qatar's sovereign wealth
fund, QIA, bought nearly a fifth of Rosneft for more than 10
billion euros. Months later, Glencore sold most of its stake,
holding on to the current 0.57% and a five-year supply deal that
expired in 2021.
Back then, most big state Russian banks were already subject
to U.S. and European sanctions imposed on Russia over its
annexation of Crimea and interference in east Ukraine in 2014.
(Reporting by Clara Denina)
((Clara.Denina@thomsonreuters.com;))