Oxus Gold Plc Regulatory News (OXS)

30 Nov 2006 07:45

Oxus Gold PLC30 November 2006 news release For release - 30 November 2006 Oxus Gold plc Uzbek investor, Zeromax, signs investment agreement with Oxus LONDON: 30 November 2006 - Oxus Gold plc ("Oxus" or the "Company") (OXS.L)announces that it has signed a subscription agreement with Zeromax, Uzbekistan'slargest private-sector company, that brings Zeromax into Oxus as a strategicinvestor and alliance partner. Zeromax has agreed to invest £12,255,000 througha private placement of 57,000,000 new ordinary shares at 21.5p per sharerepresenting 16.1% of an enlarged Oxus share capital base. Some 8,550,000 sharesare being subscribed for by 6 December 2006, and the remainder shall besubscribed for by 10 January 2007. Zeromax is a privately-held, Swiss-registered company that operates inUzbekistan through a series of joint ventures and investments in the oil & gas,mining, agriculture and textile sectors. Zeromax has forged strong workingrelationships with the Uzbek Government that have created employment for over23,000 people in the republic with 2006 group turnover expected to exceed $500million. The Zeromax success story in Uzbekistan is a model of cooperationbetween a foreign investor and a host government that wishes to encourageforeign investment. Zeromax is owned by Miradil S. Djalalov, a Tashkent entrepreneur who founded thecompany in 2000. Mr. Djalalov has agreed to join the Oxus board as anon-executive director upon completion of the agreed investment. It has alsobeen agreed that Zeromax will appoint a second director, who will serve as anexecutive, in the event that its shareholding in the Company exceeds 20%. Bill Trew, CEO of Oxus, commented "We are delighted to have Zeromax as aninvestor in Oxus and at the prospect of working with a strong and able strategicpartner in Uzbekistan. Following the recent State tax audit, AmantaytauGoldfields has appealed the tax judgment, within the deadline imposed by thecourt, and we have already begun working with Zeromax to resolve these tax andother issues, and to getting operations at AGF back to normal as quickly aspossible. "We also believe that this partnership positions us for an expansion of ourproject base in Uzbekistan. Zeromax's success has been the result of acommitment to jobs creation and economic expansion that has been warmly receivedand supported by the Uzbek Government. Together with Zeromax we believe that wecan strengthen our role within the Uzbek economy for the benefit of the Uzbekpeople and as a result create additional value for our shareholders." Application has been made for the initial 8,550,000 shares to be admitted fortrading on AIM which is expected to occur by 6 December 2006. Application willbe made for the balance of the new shares to be admitted for trading on AIMwhich is expected to occur no later than 10 January 2007. When issued the shareswill rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing ordinaryshares. Following the subscription referred to above the Company will have atotal of 355,158,736 shares in issue. End Further enquiries: Oxus Gold plc Tel: + 44 (0)20 7907 2000Richard Wilkins, Company Secretary Bankside ConsultantsKeith Irons Tel: + 44 (0)20 7367 8873Oliver Winters Tel: + 44 (0)20 7367 8874 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange