Dogged by controversy ever since Rusal announced its intention to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, its IPO on January 27 floundered after launch. Its shares plunged more than 10% after the first day of trading as investors gave a thumbs down to the Russian aluminium producer.
This was an IPO that was a disaster in the making. Two previous attempts to list were abandoned. The latest attempt was originally slated to launch before Christmas after Rusal signed off on a restructuring of its $14.9 billion of debt at the end of November. But the date was pushed back because Rusal had failed to fulfil several exchange conditions, including its profit requirement. The transaction was approved only after some hastily...
