My profile:
A property fund in Russia's Far East plans to sell a 1 percent stake in the Far Eastern Shipping Company, a blue-chip stock with 90 percent of its turnover coming from operations outside Russia.
A total of 16,738 shares will be offered on the Vladivostok International Stock Exchange on Jan. 13, regional property fund officials said Monday.
The Far Eastern Shipping Company, or FESCO, with a virtual monopoly on trade routes to Asia, has attracted a number of Western portfolio investors. The 20 percent state-owned company, which has sold 52 percent of its shares to its employees, recently sold a 9.4 percent stake to foreign investors which included U.S. banking group Citicorp and CS First Boston, company officials said.
The remaining shares are held by the regional property fund, which is selling the 1.03 percent stake in January.
The company's shares were quoted at around $50 by Moscow brokers last week. Current prices give FESCO a market capitalization of around $110 million and the company is one of the most actively traded on the Vladivostok exchange. The company has book assets of nearly $1 billion.
Company officials have said that FESCO needs to raise between $70 million and $90 million over the next five years to remain competitive. The money would be spent mainly on updating the company's fleet of 177 ships, half of which are more than 20 years old.
Last month, FESCO signed a $32.7 million loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development that will help it finance a contract to buy three Polish-made container vessels which officials say will cost $60 million. The shipping firm spent $45 million on two new Polish container vessels last year.
FESCO officials have said they hope to raise more money by selling off the government's 20 percent stake. The sale would also open the way for a new stock offering.
FESCO has slashed its work force to 17,000 employees from some 60,000 in the 1980s. It has also diversified, investing in a trading company that runs car dealerships and a hotel in Vladivostok.
(Reuters, MT)
FESCO To Sell Off 1% Stake
24 December 1994
|
|
Tweet |
|
This article has no comments. Be the first to leave a comment |
Discussion
Comments
To post comments you must be registered
Comments via Facebook
Most Read
1.
Ruble Hits Lowest Rate in 3 Years
The ruble dipped to a three-year low Thursday as oil prices fell further.
1.
McFaul Faces Kremlin Scorn Once Again
The Foreign Ministry assailed U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul for comments the ministry said went "far beyond the bounds of diplomatic etiquette."
2.
City Mistakenly Plants Marijuana Field Instead of Lawn
After the city spread soil containing "grass" seeds around the Brateyevo metro station, a field of marijuana plants sprouted up instead of a lawn.
3.
Sweden Wins Eurovision; Grannies Take Second
Sweden’s Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan on Sunday before an international TV audience of 100 million, days after angering Azeri authorities by meeting rights activists critical of the host country’s human rights record.
4.
Ukraine in Uproar Over Status of Russian Language
Ukraine's ruling party has triggered violent protests with a move to upgrade the official role of Russian, a sensitive issue opponents say will split the country.
5.
150 Detained at Anti-Kremlin Rallies
About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
6.
U.S.-Russian 3-Year Multientry Visa Bill to Go to Duma
After months of delays, the government has finalized a much-touted visa agreement with the United States and drafted the corresponding bill.
7.
Vkontakte Founder Tosses 5,000-Ruble Notes Out Window
<p>The founder of the social networking site Vkontakte celebrated St. Petersburg’s 309th anniversary over the weekend by tossing paper airplanes carrying 5,000-ruble notes out a building window.</p>
8.
Kennan's Insight Into the Russian Soul
George Kennan is best known as the author of the containment policy, which served as the overarching principle informing U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.
9.
TNK-BP Head Quits as Shareholder Crisis Flares
Billionaire Mikhail Fridman resigned Monday as chief executive of TNK-BP, plunging the country's No. 3 oil firm deeper into crisis and challenging co-owner BP's grip on the business.
10.
McFaul and State Department Respond to Attack
The U.S. ambassador and the U.S. State Department said they were surprised by blistering criticism from the Foreign Ministry regarding comments McFaul made to students last week.
1.
Hundreds of Arrests Set Grim Backdrop for Victory Day Celebrations
As Moscow gears up to celebrate its victory in World War II, 67 years ago Wednesday, the shadow of political conflict shrouds the capital as hundreds of arrests cloud Victory Day festivities.
2.
Russian Satellite Takes Highest-Ever Resolution Picture of Earth
A stunning 121-megapixel snapshot of the Earth was taken by a Russian weather satellite in what is thought to be the highest resolution picture of the planet ever taken from space.
3.
Bodies, No Survivors Spotted at Superjet Crash
Search and rescue helicopters and volunteers struggling through thick forest and mountainous terrain spotted bodies but no survivors on the Indonesian mountainside where a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed by the time darkness forced an end to the search Thursday night.
4.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
5.
Mysterious Photos Reveal an Unseen WWII
After the end of World War II, Paul Sadler returned home to Chicago with three German books and a photo album from the Dachau concentration camp.
6.
Furniture Magnate Shot Dead in Mercedes in Moscow Region
A 46-year-old furniture magnate was killed with six gunshot wounds to the head and chest early Sunday as he arrived in his Mercedes at his home in the Moscow region.
7.
New Cabinet Has Familiar Cast of Characters
President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the makeup of the new Cabinet answering to Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with three-fourths of the members having been replaced.
8.
Vladivostok Bridge Climbers Fined 300 Rubles Each
Three thrill-seekers who climbed two Vladivostok bridges earlier this week and took photos from the top were fined 300 rubles ($10) each for trespassing.
9.
Superjet Missing in Indonesia With 50 on Board
A dark cloud was cast Wednesday on the revival of Russia’s aviation industry when a Sukhoi-built Superjet 100 with 50 people on board disappeared from the radar screens of Indonesian flight controllers.
10.
Why Putin's Days Are Numbered
On Monday, Vladimir Putin will take the presidential oath of office for the third time. After 12 years in power, Putin has increased his control over the country's major institutions, the siloviki and state bureaucracy.
