Elgaugol - 'foreigners welcome'

摘要

In another twist in the saga of the on/off auction for the Elga deposit, Elgaugol has issued a statement which seems to reverse reports earlier this week. This had indicated that, after the intervention of president Vladimir Putin, Elga's change of ownership was likely to be an all-Russian affair. This conclusion stemmed from the delay, and possible scrapping, of the auction for the 29.495 percent stake in Elgaugoi held by Russian railway monopoly RZhD. RZhD postponed the conclusion of the auction of its 29.495 percent stake in Elgaugoi from January 17 until March 1, and expressed its readiness to scrap the auction altogether. This was because the Russian investors Mechel and Alrosa had changed their intentions "from Utopia to reality" and were preparing to do a direct deal with RZhD to buy the stake.