Optimo Capial Recap31 Jul 2025 08:30
Geopolitical issues emerged in 2022 as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine, leading to sanctions imposed by the West. Russian assets listed in London experienced a significant decline in value due to sales by Russian investors who risked losing access to the UK stock market
HNW Russian investors helped drive the share price to the 42p level in late 2020. However, there are no longer any Russian shareholders, as they have all sold their shares. Sanctions have prevented Russian investors from buying shares in London because the CREST settlement system is operated by Euroclear, which requires investors to have EU permanent residency. Consequently, they had to sell. Now, Eurasia is gaining a dual listing on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) in Kazakhstan, allowing investors from Kazakhstan, Russia, and China to return to the company. This is not a back-door listing, as other companies like the US$1.3 billion leading Russian gold and silver producer Polymetal International have already trodden this path. Astana market makers will buy shares in London to sell and meet the demand from Russia. It is estimated that there are approximately 353,000 dollar millionaires in 2021 (Credit Suisse) and 110 official dollar billionaires (Forbesβ Russian edition June 2024) in Russia. There is plenty of money in that country, but limited opportunities to invest. Given all this, with the rapidly improving geopolitical situation, it is little surprise that Russian companies have been trading at historic highs.
Its clear the reasoning for the SP decline at the beginning of the war in Ukraine and even clearer the purpose for the AIX listing.
An update on the currency change would be very useful, give us an idea of timescale at least.