ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. Rusal plans to complete the division of its assets into two companies in the first half of 2022, Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s aluminium producer Evgenii Nikitin told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"The demerger completion is planned in the first half of 2022," he said.

"As far as listing is concerned Al+ will remain on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, while regarding the second company we will consider [listing] after the spin-off," CEO added.

He noted that Rusal has no plans to sell any assets during the demerger, adding that the assets division is aimed at implementing the development program of each group of assets as efficiently as possible. Meanwhile Al+ may even boost its share on the aluminium market after Rusal spin-off. "We want to tap a larger market share with the help of this company. The second company will particularly focus on transformation and modernization of its facilities," CEO said.

Rusal demerger

Rusal, one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, announced earlier that it is pursuing a demerger of its higher carbon assets, whereas the company itself will change its name to Al+.

The Board of Directors has given approval to a proposal from the management and included this item as part of the company’s annual shareholders meeting agenda scheduled for June 24, 2021, Rusal said.

The company will keep most of its production assets and will be better positioned to reach its full potential as a sustainable business, developing ground-breaking inert anode technology which delivers the promise of carbon free aluminium production, earlier reports said.

En+ (main shareholder of Rusal with 56.88% share) suggested that the new company would be public, traded on Moscow Exchange, with its shares distributed between Rusal shareholders proportionately.