Russia’s Bonum says it would support forestry firm Segezha in London listing

| Tue, 26 Oct 2021 12:09:24 GMT

By Katya Golubkova and Tatiana Voronova

MOSCOW, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Segezha shareholder Bonum Capital would support the forestry group seeking a London listing, the founder of the Russia-focused investment firm said, anticipating a timber industry boom as a result of the focus on global climate change.

Russia plans to put forests, carbon capture and gas at the core of cutting its emissions, which could raise the value of timber and gas firms.

Bonum, which was founded by Murat Aliev to manage his assets after working for Russia’s Nafta Moskva and Renova industrial groups, is set to become Segezha’s second biggest shareholder in early 2022.

Aliev said he expects Segezha to gain from expanding its production assets in the western and eastern parts of Russia, which coupled with the climate change agenda could double its market capitalisation to $5 billion over the next two years.

“We will support the idea of a London listing… The climate agenda is on the stage and there is a no turning back,” the 42-year-old told Reuters in an interview.

As Segezha is expanding, it would consider a European listing at the end of next year or in early 2023, a senior executive told Reuters last month, in addition to the Moscow trading of its shares secured in April.

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Bonum runs a portfolio of some $700 million, including leverage, with allocations to Gazprom, Rosneft , oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil and online retailer Ozon.

“What we see now on the gas market will be soon on the oil market,” Aliev said in reference to soaring spot gas prices, adding that oil majors were the “right investment now”. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Tatiana Voronova; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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