Glencore Abandons Hong Kong Listing as It Sticks With Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc is planning to withdraw its listing from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange early next year, with the world’s biggest commodities trader saying that only a small number of investors had chosen to hold their shares on the local register.

Dealings in Hong Kong-listed shares are expected to cease on Jan. 10, the Baar, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Glencore, which trades raw materials including copper and zinc, and will retain its listing in London, as well as in Johannesburg.

Glencore started trading in Hong Kong in 2011 to attract investment from Asian markets, where the majority of its commodities are sold and consumed. The shares have rallied this year, hitting a four-year high in London this month, as raw materials advanced, especially metals. On Monday, Glencore raised its forecast for earnings from its trading division to as much as $2.8 billion.

“After careful consideration, the board has concluded that it is in the best interests of the company, the shareholders and holders of other securities of the company as a whole if the listing of the shares on the HKEX is withdrawn,” it said. The shares held on the Hong Kong register account for only 0.3 percent of the total issued share capital, it said.

Listings and voluntary de-listings are the result of commercial decisions by companies and are often due to many factors, exchange spokeswoman Lorraine Chan said in a statement, calling the city a “very competitive listing center with many advantages.”

The trader’s Hong Kong shares ended 1.6 percent higher at HK$37.95 on Tuesday, taking their advance in 2017 to 45 percent. In January 2016, the stock sank to a nadir of HK$7.81 amid concerns about the company’s debt load and weaker commodity prices.

Peter Grauer, the chairman of Bloomberg LP, is a senior independent non-executive director at Glencore.

Source: Bloomberg Business News