By Alex MacDonald
CAPE TOWN--Commodities titan Glencore International PLC
(GLEN.LN) is considering a secondary listing on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange once it has completed its merger with Anglo-Swiss
miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN), a person familiar with the matter said
Thursday.
The person said Glencore is studying a secondary listing but
noted the study is still at an early stage. The person added that
the consideration is being driven by the fact that South Africa has
a savvy pool of investors who are familiar with both Glencore and
Xstrata's operations in South Africa.
Other miners have also been considering listing their shares on
the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The executive chairman of
Canada-listed Ivanplats Ltd (IVP.T), Robert Friedland, said earlier
this week that Ivanplats was considering a secondary listing in
Johannesburg before pursing a listing in London.
Meanwhile, a new company called Sibanye Gold is due to start
trading on the JSE next week. Sibanye Gold was formed from the
spinoff of most of Gold Fields Ltd's (GFI) South African gold
assets into a separately listed company that pays a high
dividend.
Investors have been attracted to the JSE by a large pool of
investors with knowledge about mining and the fact that each of the
companies has a notable presence in South Africa or plans to have a
notable presence in South Africa.
Glencore and Xstrata both operate a portfolio of coal assets in
the country while Xstrata also has an alloys business and a nearly
25% stake in South African platinum producer Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN),
the world's third-largest producer of the shiny metal.
Glencore and Xstrata are currently in the midst of a merger to
create the world's fourth-largest mining company with a market
capitalization of about $80 billion. The two companies are in the
final stretch of closing the deal and are now only waiting for
regulatory approval from China in order to close the deal. The
company has extended the deadline for closing the deal to March 15
in order to secure the final rubber stamp.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
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