Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov shifts focus to Chinese tech firms
Russia's richest man, Alisher Usmanov, has sold shares in Apple and Facebook and bought into Chinese technology investments such as Alibaba, one of his advisers said.
Usmanov has a net worth of US$17.5 billion. He built his Metalloinvest iron ore business by acquisitions. He bought a stake of about US$100 million in Apple last year and sold it recently, Streshinskiy said, adding that the sale followed a gradual reduction of Usmanov's stake in Facebook.
"We hope that our investments in China's internet companies may show the same and even better returns as we had with the American companies," Streshinskiy said.
Apple shares have advanced about 23 per cent since March last year, when Usmanov first said he bought the stake, but have declined about 6 per cent this year.
Facebook initially plunged after its listing in 2012 and its shares have more than doubled in the past 12 months, taking its market value to about US$172 billion.
When Usmanov acquired a Facebook stake in 2009, his fund persuaded founder Mark Zuckerberg to sell by giving up voting rights. Usmanov, with a partner, bought about 10 per cent of Facebook when the company was valued at US$6 billion to US$10 billion and sold some shares in the listing, which valued the company at US$104 billion, the businessman told state television at the time.
Meanwhile, Metalloinvest, Russia's largest iron ore producer, might switch to shipping to China and other markets should Europe apply sanctions on its exports due to the crisis in Ukraine's Crimea region, Streshinskiy said.
"We are concerned with the possible sanctions against Russia but don't see any dramatic repercussions for our business," Streshinskiy said. "China is unlikely to impose any sanctions. So we will be trading in roubles, yuan, Hong Kong or Singapore dollars."
