News

June 21, 2009

The Week In Alternative Power: Glencore To Float, And China Backs Solar

By Sally White

For a change in alternative power it was the turn of equity markets to dominate the action. Among major news for investors interested in commodities was news that Glencore International AG, the world’s largest commodity trader, plans a major equity float. While the employee-owned group’s profile is highest in the metals, it also has a massive presence in grains, energy, rice and sugar, a presence that runs across western and eastern Europe, Asia and South America. The Swiss-based company has already held initial talks with bankers about a share sale, according to reports last week.

Glencore ignominiously had its credit rating cut to the lowest investment grade by Standard & Poor’s in December, as metals prices and demand plunged. After more than three decades operating as a highly secretive and closely held partnership, the Swiss company has now begun issuing increasingly detailed quarterly reports. Newspaper reports suggested that listing on stock exchanges could open up new sources for capital. The cost of insuring Glencore against a default on its debt spiked...