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Posté: Jeu 14 Avr 2011 00:02Commodities giant Glencore poised for float amid tax avoidance row
By ROB DAVIES
Last updated at 9:26 PM on 13th April 2011
Commodities giant Glencore is poised to launch the largest flotation in City history, despite concerns from investors about its record on tax avoidance and a volatile environment that has seen a flurry of listings fall by the wayside.
The giant commodities trader could announce its intention to float as soon as today, pushing the button on a £7bn offering of 20 per cent of the firm, valuing Glencore at around £37bn.
Its decision to move ahead comes amid accusations of tax avoidance at the expense of some of the world’s poorest people.
The Daily Mail revealed this week that a group of non-governmental organisat ions (NGOs) have filed a complaint about Glencore’s Zambian subsidiary with international business watchdog the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Several investors said they were want answers from the company before ploughing any money into the float.
Paul McGinnis, head of research at Co-operative Asset Management, said: ‘Should Glencore decide to list as a public company then we would expect it to observe best practice in terms of governance and transparency.’
And a spokesman for the Church of England said that while Glencore did not deal in any of its forbidden areas, such as tobacco, pornography or arms, its investment bodies would grill the firm about its practices.
‘We are already aware of the questions which have been raised about Glencore, and expect to take them up with senior management,’ said a spokesman.
Scrutiny of the firm has intensified, after the NGOs accused it of ‘financial and accounting manipulations’ to slash the tax bill of its Mopani Copper Mines business in Zambia.
They allege that Mopani sold copper at artificially low prices to its parent company Glencore, which then sold the metal on, taking advantage of Switzerland’s ultra-low tax regime.
The company strenuously denies this practice, known as ‘transfer pricing’.
Glencore’s ambition has survived a series of failed listings by other firms, including that of Skrill, the parent company of Moneybookers.com, which pulled its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) earlier this week.
Skrill blamed the cancellation on ‘adverse IPO market conditions’, joining technology firm Edwards Group, Topaz Energy and gold firm Nord Gold on the listings scrapheap.
If Glencore can defy the tough market for floats, some of its top partners are expected to end up sitting on stock worth more than £150m, although they will be barred from selling it for five years.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/articl ... ds-newsxml
By ROB DAVIES
Last updated at 9:26 PM on 13th April 2011
Commodities giant Glencore is poised to launch the largest flotation in City history, despite concerns from investors about its record on tax avoidance and a volatile environment that has seen a flurry of listings fall by the wayside.
The giant commodities trader could announce its intention to float as soon as today, pushing the button on a £7bn offering of 20 per cent of the firm, valuing Glencore at around £37bn.
Its decision to move ahead comes amid accusations of tax avoidance at the expense of some of the world’s poorest people.
The Daily Mail revealed this week that a group of non-governmental organisat ions (NGOs) have filed a complaint about Glencore’s Zambian subsidiary with international business watchdog the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Several investors said they were want answers from the company before ploughing any money into the float.
Paul McGinnis, head of research at Co-operative Asset Management, said: ‘Should Glencore decide to list as a public company then we would expect it to observe best practice in terms of governance and transparency.’
And a spokesman for the Church of England said that while Glencore did not deal in any of its forbidden areas, such as tobacco, pornography or arms, its investment bodies would grill the firm about its practices.
‘We are already aware of the questions which have been raised about Glencore, and expect to take them up with senior management,’ said a spokesman.
Scrutiny of the firm has intensified, after the NGOs accused it of ‘financial and accounting manipulations’ to slash the tax bill of its Mopani Copper Mines business in Zambia.
They allege that Mopani sold copper at artificially low prices to its parent company Glencore, which then sold the metal on, taking advantage of Switzerland’s ultra-low tax regime.
The company strenuously denies this practice, known as ‘transfer pricing’.
Glencore’s ambition has survived a series of failed listings by other firms, including that of Skrill, the parent company of Moneybookers.com, which pulled its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) earlier this week.
Skrill blamed the cancellation on ‘adverse IPO market conditions’, joining technology firm Edwards Group, Topaz Energy and gold firm Nord Gold on the listings scrapheap.
If Glencore can defy the tough market for floats, some of its top partners are expected to end up sitting on stock worth more than £150m, although they will be barred from selling it for five years.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/articl ... ds-newsxml