Oleg Deripaska's plans for a $2bn initial public offering of UC Rusal this year were on a knife edge yesterday after it emerged that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange had again put off a decision on the listing.
The exchange will now hold a hearing on December 7 to decide whether to allow the Russian tycoon's aluminium group to list, people close to the situation said. If approved, the company will then have just eight days to market the offering of 10 per cent of its shares if it is to price by December 16 in order to start trading before Christmas.
The delay came as Rusal completed a landmark deal to restructure nearly $17bn in debt owed to more than 70 international and domestic creditors, clearing an important hurdle for the IPO after nearly nine months of negotiations.