Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of uranium, has announced plans to list in London, following a rebound in prices for the nuclear fuel.
The state-owned Kazakh producer, often dubbed the Saudi Aramco of the uranium market, will consider listing 25 per cent of its shares in the form of depository receipts, according to a filing.
The listing comes as uranium prices have started to recover from a seven year slump following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
Production cuts by the largest producers, including Kazatomprom, have helped drive prices up over 30 per cent since April to $27.4 per pound.
The uranium industry is at an “inflection point,” Kazatomprom said, “with attractive long-term fundamentals and significant barriers to entry.”
Demand for uranium is expected to “remain robust” in the coming decades as emerging markets such as China build more nuclear-fired power plants, it said.
In June Yellow Cake, an investment vehicle that plans to buy and store uranium, listed in London. Its shares have risen by 19 per cent since July.
Kazatomprom is one of three state-controlled companies the Kazakh government is looking to privatise. Last year the company produced around 20 per cent of the world’s uranium.
Its shares are currently all owned by the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. Kazatomprom will not receive any of the proceeds from the share sale, it said.
Credit Suisse and JP Morgan are acting as joint bookrunners for the listing.
Source: Financial Times