(Reuters) – Russia’s biggest gold miner Polyus Gold is considering delisting from London, Kommersant newspaper said on Wednesday, the first Russian company to suggest it may heed a call by officials to bring assets home to survive Western sanctions.
Polyus, a London-listed and Jersey-registered firm with assets in Russia, plans to discuss the possible delisting at the next meeting of its board of directors, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.
Polyus, part-owned by businessman Suleiman Kerimov, declined to comment.
On Tuesday, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov urged companies listed on foreign stock exchanges to consider re-listing in Moscow to protect themselves from sanctions imposed by the West over Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Shuvalov’s remarks were the latest in a campaign backed by President Vladimir Putin to encourage politicians and businessmen to return from the “offshore shadows” and stop spiriting cash out of the country to boost a flagging economy.
More than 10 of Russia’s leading companies are registered abroad, most lead by the country’s richest tycoons. (Reporting by Polina Devitt, editing by Elizabeth Piper)