Gazprom lists in S’pore, taps Asian investors

SINGAPORE, June 17 (AFP): Russian energy giant Gazprom began trading on the Singapore stock exchange on Tuesday, with the company seeking to tap Asian investors following a massive gas deal with China.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) said Gazprom's global depository receipts (GDRs) began trading at 0100 GMT.

"This listing of Gazprom's GDR is an important event for SGX and we are honoured to host such a prominent company on our exchange," SGX chief executive Magnus Bocker said in a statement.

"It will also add significantly to our mineral, oil and gas sector. We look forward to being both a capital raising and business platform for Russian companies expanding their business into Asia."

Andrey Kruglov, head of Gazprom's finance and economics department, said the listing marked "a key milestone" in the top natural gas producer's history.

The listing "further demonstrates the importance of Singapore, and the wider Asia-Pacific region, for Gazprom's business and future strategy", he said.

"Gazprom's first listing in Asia enables us to broaden our global shareholder base in one of the world's most dynamic financial markets."