£3bn Sberbank stake sale under way
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russia launched the long-awaited sale of a $5bn (£3bn) stake in Sberbank yesterday, reducing its controlling interest in Europe's third-largest bank by equity value and reviving its stalled privatisation programme.
The sale of a 7.6 per cent stake in Sberbank has been held up for more than a year by weak markets, but last week's announcement of a new round of credit easing by the US lifted sentiment and opened the window to a placing.
Russian stocks rallied by 8 per cent on Friday, propelling Sberbank shares to their highest since April and putting the state in a position to sell into strength.
"This was the best imaginable day of the past 15 months to take the decision to go to the market," German Gref, the chief executive, said. He added that he hoped asset managers in China, Singapore and Hong Kong, among others, would be interested in the offering.
The bank will hold investor presentations today in London and New York.
The sale will boost the liquidity of Russia's most actively traded stock, widely viewed by investors as a proxy for economic growth running at 4 per cent, and by one estimate the world's best-performing large-company stock over the past decade after Apple.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments