Reuters: Russian Nornickel may move its plant to China to avoid Western sanctions
Kyiv • UNN
Russia's Norilsk Nickel is in talks with China Copper to set up a joint venture in China, which would allow the Russian company to relocate all of its facilities there, potentially becoming the first Russian company to relocate due to Western sanctions on Russian metals.
Mining and metallurgical giant Norilsk Nickel is negotiating with China Copper to set up a joint venture that will allow the Russian company to move all its facilities to China. Reuters reports this with reference to its own sources, UNN reports.
Details
The publication noted that this could be the first case of closure of a Russian company since the US and UK banned Russian aluminum, copper and nickel from being listed on the stock exchange.
Reuters sources explained that executives from China Copper, owned by Chinalco, the world's largest aluminum producer, flew to Moscow in June to discuss a possible joint venture.
Currently, Chinese cities such as Fangchenggang and Qinzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are being considered. Another possible option is Qingdao in Shandong province.
The newspaper's interlocutors assume that the decision will be made in the next few months. They are also confident that Nornickel's Chinese products will most likely be consumed in China.
Sourced from sources, the new facility is expected to have a capacity of 450,000 tons of copper per year - approximately 2% of global production, which is estimated to reach approximately 22 million metric tons this year.
According to the sources, China Copper is the only company interested in establishing a joint venture with Nornickel. Its parent company, Chinalco, is directly controlled by the Chinese government and is authorized to make key decisions involving foreign partners.
The newspaper explained that Nornickel has approached other Chinese state-owned copper producers, but many of them are controlled by regional governments and do not want to work with a foreign company without Beijing's approval.
Recall
In April of this year , the United States and the United Kingdom imposed new bans on the import and use of Russian aluminum, copper and nickel to limit Russia's metal export revenues and its ability to finance its war against Ukraine.
