Hongkonger at helm of Rusal could be under threat if Putin gets his way
There has been a further flurry of speculation that come June 15 when Hong Kong-listed Russian aluminium producer Rusal holds its AGM, Hong Kong's Barry Cheung Chun-yuen will be supplanted as chairman. This month, we reported that the writing was on the wall following Rusal's announcement that it was nominating Matthias Warnig for a seat as an independent non-executive director on its board. Warnig is apparently telling some people that he is to be the next chairman of Rusal.
Warnig is head of Nord Stream, which operates the gas pipeline from Russia to Europe, and is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which seems to count for a lot in this situation. He was previously chairman of the board at Russian pipeline giant Transneft, and a member of the supervisory board of Russian bank VEB. Putin was apparently irritated, maybe even annoyed, that his wish for a Russian to chair Rusal was not carried out when Barry Cheung was appointed chairman in March, after Viktor Vekselberg acrimoniously resigned.
Cheung, who is chairman of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, was presumably appointed because he was trusted by Deripaska, who did not want another troublesome oligarch as chairman. Cheung is also Chinese, which is a plus since Rusal is desperate to make inroads into the China market. Its share price tumbled to an all-time low on May 18, to HK$4.44, or 59 per cent below its IPO price of HK$10.80. It closed yesterday at HK$4.70.
Asked if he had heard about the speculation over the chairmanship, Cheung said he had been told by people who ought to know that 'this is not the plan'. He said he was happy to work for the good of the company and its shareholders. But we got the impression that if his position were to change he would not be heartbroken.
Euro failure is a warning to others
Those who have been hoping for closer currency integration in Asia will have drawn little inspiration from listening to Eswar Prasad yesterday. He was previously head of the International Monetary Fund's China division, and now teaches at Cornell University in the United States. Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, he said the turmoil within the euro zone was changing the nature of the conversation regarding currency union in both Asia and Africa.