Polyus gold pulls London listing plan

Russian gold miner Polyus Gold has suspended plans to list on the London Stock Exchange after the government's commission on foreign investment headed by president-elect Vladimir Putin failed to approve in November the company's relocation to the UK. Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday that Polyus Gold International had withdrawn its application to re-register in the UK. The company, controlled by Russian billionaires Mikhail Prokhorov and Suleiman Kerimov, declined to comment. Polyus Gold, currently a Moscow-listed company with its global depositary receipts traded in London, announced plans in early October to register its parent company, Polyus Gold Plc, in the UK and launched preparations to list its ordinary shares on the LSE and be included in the FTSE 100 index. The foreign investment commission did not approve Polyus Gold's application last November, saying it needed additional information. The application was to be examined at the commission's next meeting but "after [the presidential] elections it became unclear at all when the next meeting will take place, what members will be there and whether they will examine the application," an unnamed source connected to the listing attempt told Kommersant.