2 - ALU-WEB.DE

20 FAIRS / ON THE MOVE 4 | 12-2009 APT ALUMINIUM NEWS
The London View
Aluminium prices
hold up against all odds
One so-called deadline after
the other goes without proper
results. Oleg Deripaska, once
seen as the richest oligarch
in Russia, still struggles to
get his house in order. He is
deeply indebted and even
more is his UC RusAl, the
world’s biggest or second
biggest aluminium group.
Deripaska most urgently has
to agree a restructuring deal
with foreign creditors on at
least 7.3 Billion US dollar
(USD) in debt before he can
seriously think about listing
RusAl at the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange.
However, even if the
former oligarch reaches such
an agreement he must still
race to win creditor committee
approval from more
than 70 banks and find a new
lead adviser for the planned
IPO (Initial Public Offering).
The latter became necessary
because the chosen investment
bank Goldman Sachs
withdrew as lead adviser.
According to traders at the
London Metal Exchange
(LME) this underlines the
risks surrounding what could
become one of the biggest listings
in Hong Kong this year.
Deripaska initially talked
already two years ago about
an IPO for RusAl at the London
Stock Exchange (LSE).
However, London obviously
lost its lustre for Deripaska, be
it because of the strict rules at
the LSE or be it the fact that
Michael Cherney, a former
Russian partner, is suing him
in London’s High Court for a
stake in RusAl. Deripaska has
no cash to pay out Cherney.
Depending on the verdict
– giving him a stake in Rus-
Al would cost Deripaska his
anyway already thinned out
majority.
However, the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange is said to have
started to ask a lot of awkward
questions about the Cherney
case. And it is by far not clear
what drives the few banks
which are now assumed to
be in leading positions at
RusAl: BNP Paribas, Credit
Suisse, Merrill Lynch/Bank
of America and Renaissance
Capital, the Moscow investment
bank. All are thought
to be big creditors of RusAl.
The Bank of China obviously
has its own reasons
to get involved. Anyway, to
assume the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange or the Financial
Authorities in the Far East or
both of them are more lenient
than London would be a grave
error. Deripaska, however,
has even more urgent problems
that drive him to an IPO
for RusAl. After an agreement
with three other big shareholders
in RusAl he must
make “a serious attempt” for
an IPO of RusAl or start buying
out their shares. But these
shareholders are probably
still better off than Deripaska
himself: Mikhail Prokhorov
and Viktor Vekselberg are
still said to be billionaires
and Glencore, the Swiss mining
and metal trading group,
has financially even less difficulties.
Nevertheless, to pay
them out Deripaska would
need another – preferably
rich – partner or a successful
IPO. He tried to win over the
Libyan Investment Authority
(LIA), but the talks failed in
September. Now the listing in
Hong Kong seems to be no
longer a safe and easy option
either.
Rio Tinto/Alcan, by production
capacity one of the
world’s top players in the
aluminium market, seems
to cover up its aluminium
business. Nearly all news the
company publishes are dealing
with iron ore. Paul Skinner,
the former non-executive
chairman who was seen
as champion of the rather
overpriced, ill timed and so
far ill-fated acquisition of
Alcan in 2007, is gone. The
new chairman Jan du Plessis
tries to refresh the board
by changes until the next
annual meeting in April next
year. Until then he hopes for
higher iron ore prices and an
even cleaner balance sheet.
With help of very successful
credit default swaps Rio Tinto
is worlds away from the danger
of having to seek protection
via Chapter 11 or going
into receivership. Even his in
late spring still highly praised
plan for a joint venture with
rival BHP Billiton in West
Australia’s iron ore mining
seems to be abandoned by
now. What neither du Plessis
nor Rio Tinto’s CEO Tom
Albanese can change is the
operational legacy of Alcan.
Base metals rallied this year
thanks to high demand
from China. Aluminium
prices rose to a level around
USD1900 to over USD2000
per tonne. That has prompted
a lot of restarting of idled
aluminium smelters. International
banks like HSBC foresee
that their production will
be exacerbating oversupply.
After already almost three
years of excess capacity and
considering huge new smelters
coming on stream like
Qatalum the bank does not
even for the next four years
expect a lack of aluminium
or any shortages of the light
metal. That sounds like an
over-due downward correction
of the aluminium markets.
However, up to midst
of November the markets
did not seem to be bothered
by all these gloomy forecasts.
In spite of the troubles Rio
Tinto and RusAl may have in
their headquarters, their production
and marketing units
obviously did nothing to disturb
the aluminium markets.
Futures at the LME went up
further: primary aluminium
on a 15 month prompt date
to USD2050 per tonne and
under a 27 month contract
to USD2123 per ton. At this
price level the time of bad
losses for the former Alcandivisions
may be over soon.
Dr. Katharina Otzen-
Odrich, London
International trade fair for the aluminium industry premieres in Istanbul
aluexpo 2009 gets off to a good start
aluexpo, the first trade fair
for the aluminium sector
in Turkey made a good
start and focussed on every
aspect of modern aluminium
technology, including
foundry and smelting
products, metalworking
and processing machinery,
as well as a broad range of
related services. Its successful
debut confirmed the
organizers’ confident view
that it has big potential.
From 15-18 October, the
15,000 square metre display
area of the IDTM Istanbul
Expo Center was booked to
full capacity as 201 exhibitors
from 21 countries, including
companies from India, Bahrain,
PR China, Italy, Germany,
the Netherlands and
Turkey, showed products for
the aluminium industry to
an audience of 9,229 trade
visitors.
aluexpo 2009: event receives top marks from 201
international exhibitors
Exhibiting companies
later reported that they had
negotiated major business
deals and orders, so it was
not surprising that the overall
verdict of the exhibitors was
clearly positive. Consequently,
numerous applications for
stand space have already been
received for the next aluexpo
in 2011.
Parallel to the trade fair,
the Turkish industry association
TALSAD staged its
4 th Aluminium Symposium.
Throughout the two-day sym-
Photo: deutsche Messe
posium numerous experts
discussed the latest trends and
future-focussed issues affecting
the aluminium industry,
thus augmenting the trade
fair content. This supporting
event was well received by the
large number of trade visitors
who attended.
aluexpo was organized
by Hannover-Messe Ankiros
Fuarcilik A.Ş., Ankara, a
subsidiary of Deutsche Messe
Hannover. The organization
of the trade fair was supported
up by TALSAD, the association
that represents the
interests of the Turkish aluminium
industry. The next
aluexpo will take place from
13-16 October 2011, once
again at the IDTM Istanbul
Expo Center.
Further information
about the trade fair can be
found online at
www.aluexpo.com
EMAL names new CEO
The board of directors of
EMAL has appointed Saeed
Al Mazrooei as new CEO.
The former CEO Duncan
Hedditch will continue to
serve EMAL in an advisory
capacity.
The board of directors
confirmed the appointment
of Mr Mazrooei unanimously
and thanked Mr Hedditch for
his exemplary efforts in delivering
the project on budget
and to schedule. “As EMAL
moves from construction to
operations, it is natural that
we begin to shift our focus to
the operational aspects of the
smelter. Saeed brings years of
valuable experience in managing
day to day operations
to EMAL, and we have every
confidence in his abilities to
lead this project into the next
New Technical
Manager at Dienes
Dienes Werke in Overath,
Germany. succeeded in
binding a new Technical
Manager by contract.
Since 1. November 2009
Mr Josef Nelles has been
responsible for the departments
CAD, Manufacture,
Process Planning and Development.
Mr Nelles has a degree
in Mechanical Engineering
and started his professional
carrier as constructing engineer
at Ackermann-Fruehauf
GmbH, followed by SIG
Combibloc and worked many
years for Voith Paper GmbH.
His long years of experience
in Technical Manage-
phase,” said EMAL chairman,
Mr Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Saeed Al Mazrooei brings
more than 25 years experience
to EMAL. Prior to his
role as vice president of UAE
Operations at Dolphin Energy,
he held key management
positions with ARCO Dubai.
He holds a BSc in Mechanical
Engineering from Gonzaga
University, USA and an MSc
in Gas Engineering and Management
from the University of
Salford, UK. Over the next few
months, Mr Mazrooei and Mr
Hedditch will focus on the
completion of phase one of the
construction and a smooth
transition. EMAL’s staff was
informed of the management
transition at a CEO assembly
meeting.
Josef Nelles
www.emal.ae
ment and Constructional
Engineering will help Dienes
to keep their technical lead in
the field of industrial slitting
and supplier of components.
Second edition of
ALUMINIUM INDIA 2010
As a new industry trade fair
for one of the fastest growing
aluminium markets,
ALUMINIUM INDIA cele-
brated its successful premiere
last year. The fair will
now be held for the second
time from 25 to 27 February
2010. Over 150 international
exhibitors are expected to
attend at the Bombay Exhibition
Centre in Mumbai.
Something was made very
clear when ALUMINIUM
CHINA closed in Shanghai
at the beginning of July: the
Asian market is currently
recovering from the economic
downturn. This is confirmed
by the great demand for
spaces for ALUMINIUM
INDIA.
Fata Hunter, Indo Foil,
Jiwanram Sheoduttrai Group
(J.S. Group), Five Solios,
Pyrotek or Wagstaff – the
major players on the Indian
market will be represented
in Mumbai. Bhoruka Alu-
www.dienes.de
minium Ltd, India’s leading
extruder is taking part in the
fair as an associate sponsor.
London Metal Exchange will
also be present in Mumbai.
India is one of the fastest
growing markets for the
aluminium industry. Even
though the per capita consumption
of aluminium in
India is still one of the lowest
(about 1 kg per capita), in
absolute production figures,
the subcontinent takes 8 th
place and also holds around 10
percent of the bauxite deposits
worldwide. The demand
comes primarily from the
electrical, transportation,
packaging and construction
sectors. Once again in 2010,
ALUMINIUM INDIA will
be accompanied by Alcastek
International Conference,
the internationally renowned
convention on aluminium
casting, rolling and extrusion
technology.
www.aluminium-india.com