Ex VTB executive Riccardo Orcel joins British agri trader Quanton as chairman

Polymetal International PK

16/06/2022 07:00

By Pamela Barbaglia and Jonathan Saul
    LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Former VTB banker Riccardo Orcel
has taken a new role as chairman of London-based agricultural
trader Quanton Commodities as he seeks to revamp his career
after more than a decade at Russia's second-largest lender.
    It is the second chairmanship in less than three months for
the 56-year old Italian who fled Moscow to relocate to Milan in
the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and was appointed
chairman of London-listed gold producer Polymetal International
 POLYP.L  in March.
    Orcel, whose older brother Andrea runs Italian bank
UniCredit  CRDI.MI , was one of the most established Western
bankers in Russia and spent 11 years at VTB Capital, the
investment banking arm of VTB, where he was non-executive vice
chairman until March when Western sanctions prompted his
resignation.
    "Riccardo is a high-profile personality in the banking world
and will help us manage our financials and support our growth,"
Quanton's founder and chief executive Valerio Antonini told
Reuters.
    Orcel, who declined to comment, will now help Quanton widen
its banking relationships and scale up its business which was
established in 2020 and is a challenger to the top tier agri
trading houses such as Glencore  GLEN.L , Cargill, Bunge  BG.N ,
Archer Daniels Midland  ADM.N  and Louis Dreyfus.
    Orcel's appointment comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine
has disrupted grains supplies from one of the world's top
exporting regions, with Russia and Ukraine responsible for more
than a quarter of global wheat exports.
    Traders specialising in the agri sector have reaped big
profits from the crisis as consumers' food demand remains strong
despite soaring prices.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2WO2FY  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2WP2AV  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XV0UI
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    Antonini, a former friend and business partner of late
soccer star Diego Maradona who helped forge ties with Cuban and
Venezuelan leaders, has sought to build his company's trading
activities amid grain turmoil triggered by the Ukraine war.
    "We have gone long in our purchases well before the crisis
started and have since hedged our positions in the market," he
said.
    Antonini said Orcel's appointment was not linked to any
business initiative in Russia as Quanton was unable to trade
Russian wheat at present, partly due to the challenges of
finding ships.
    The firm, which has Benjamin Mancroft - a member of
Britain's upper house of parliament with the ruling Conservative
party - on its board, had turnover of nearly 70 million pounds
($84 million) in 2021, according to regulatory filings, rising
to $405 million in the first half of 2022, with a year-end
target of $600 million, Antonini said.
    Orcel will work closely with Antonini on his plans to raise
growth capital ahead of a possible listing of Quanton down the
line, the CEO added.
    
    FRONTIER MARKETS
    Quanton is one of a few UK-based commodities companies
trading in frontier markets such as Iran. 
    While food purchases by Iran are not banned, banking
restrictions using U.S. dollars make such trades complex due to
sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran.
    "It's humanitarian food. Nobody is touching oil or
sanctioned companies," Antonini said.
    Earlier this month, Quanton sold 60,000 tonnes of German
wheat to Iran's state-run buyer GTC - its second trade with an
Iranian government buyer in a year, he said.
    He added the firm was also looking to boost sales to other
countries impacted by sanctions, such as Cuba.
    In Africa, a big buyer of Ukrainian grains, Quanton is
seeking to build a multi-million grain storage facility in
Uganda, which will serve as a distribution hub for neighbouring
countries.
    "If the war (in Ukraine) won't finish in the next five
months, the grain shortage will start causing serious problems,"
Antonini predicted.
    ($1 = 0.8293 pounds)

 (Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia and Jonathan Saul
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((pamela.barbaglia@thomsonreuters.com;  +442075427723; Reuters
Messaging: pamela.barbaglia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))