#Gunvor's Timchenko eyes downstream buys | Reuters #Oil

Gunvor's Timchenko eyes downstream buys

ST PETERSBURG, Russia | Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:54am EDT

(Reuters) - Gennady Timchenko, co-owner of Gunvor, says now is the right time to buy downstream assets, as he eyes transforming his fast-growing Russian trading house into a vertically integrated energy business.
But, in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Thursday, Timchenko said he was not ready for big purchases, such as the one-half stake in TNK-BP, Russia's No.3 oil firm, that has been put up for sale by British oil major BP.
"It (TNK-BP) is a very big company, we are not ready for such big purchases, we did not even discuss this subject," Timchenko said on the fringes of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"We have become active in buying oil refineries now as we think that now is the right time to enter oil refining."
Gunvor recently bought bankrupt Swiss oil firm Petroplus's refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany, following an earlier deal to buy a plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
Timchenko added that Gunvor may look at other "interesting possibilities" in downstream if they arise.
Timchenko, viewed as having good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he owns just over 46 percent in Gunvor. Chief Executive Torbjorn Tornqvist owns 46 percent, while the rest is owned by management.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Douglas Busvine)

Read the article online here:  Exclusive: Gunvor's Timchenko eyes downstream buys | Reuters

End of the supercycle is also spelling the end of radical resource nationalism | #MINING.com

End of the supercycle is also spelling the end of radical resource nationalism

Frik Els | June 17, 2012
Last year according to an Ernst & Young survey of the world's 30 largest miners, resource nationalism jumped to the top of the risk list after 25 countries announced their intentions to increase their take of the mining industry’s profits and others contemplate outright nationalization.

A growing list of nations – and not just radical fringe territories such as Zimbabwe or Venezuela – but stable jurisdictions including Poland, Ghana and Botswana have been pushing for greater control and ownership of the resource sector on top of higher taxes and royalties as cash-rich mining companies become easy targets for politicians.

South Africa recently stepped back from nationalization, but is nevertheless tightening its grip on the industry.  Although it has since backtracked in the run-up to elections in Mongolia set for the end of the month draft legislation put forward new provisions to cap foreign ownership of domestic companies at 49%.

Zambia has publicly acknowledged that the period of state-controlled copper mining was disastrous, but is also looking at ways to increase state ownership and intervention in its resource industry.

Indonesia surprised the global mining community in March after a new rule – Government Regulation No. 24 of 2012 – was quietly announced on the mining ministry's website which requires all foreign mining companies to sell majority stakes in their mining operations to locals. That news was in addition to  new export duties levied on minerals.

The tide of resource nationalism may now be turning however argues the Financial Times because the world's biggest miniers "are slowing down – or even talking about cancelling – their investment programme, allowing them to play country against country".

Natural resources companies with a pipeline of, say, five projects in five different countries are now likely to build just two or three of those. Thus, executives have the power to cherry pick which combination of country and project offers the best returns.

The threat of a cancellation – or long delays – could be a powerful incentive for politicians to offer better terms to companies, executives mutter.

In particular, local and regional politicians will be particularly prone to lobby in companies’ favour in the hope of securing jobs and investments.

The paper says Australia appears to be leading the way in backing off from placing too onerous demands on resource investors and African countries are also taking a softer stance.

Changes in South American governments' attitude towards greater state control and revenue from mining are less evident, with a country like Peru struggling to contain protests against new mega-mines and Argentina seizing outright control of energy assets.

As attractive deposits become harder and harder to find in traditional markets, miners – especially those exploring for gold – are also pushing the limits of the political risk they are willing to take on.

Read more >>End of the supercycle is also spelling the end of radical resource nationalism | MINING.com

CME Group to allow physical settlement of weekly #gold options - MINING FINANCE / INVESTMENT - Mineweb.com

CME Group to allow physical settlement of weekly gold options


Chicago-based CME says it will amend the contract of its weekly gold options to let investors exercise into futures contracts effective July 1, pending approval from the U.S. CFTC.

Author: By Frank Tang
Posted: Tuesday , 19 Jun 2012


NEW YORK (REUTERS) -


CME Group is allowing investors in its short-term gold option contracts to take delivery of physical bullion in a bid to increase the product's appeal against over-the-counter gold options.


The biggest operator of U.S. futures exchanges said it will amend the contract of its weekly gold options to let investors exercise into futures contracts effective July 1, pending approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CME said in a notice late last week.


Prior to the change, the options, which were launched in July last year on CME's COMEX metals platform, were settled by cash only and physical delivery was not permitted.


Chicago-based CME is trying to make the options more attractive as some investors favor owning physical precious metals as a safe haven in market turbulence.


In a similar move to woo investors who favor physical metals in October last year, CME more than doubled the amount of physical gold it can accept from its clearing members as collateral.


Dealers said that the CME was trying to gain market share from the over-the-counter market, which offers investors gold options with a wide array of expiration dates.


Each of the short-term options has a five-business-day expiration period, and the exchange rolls out a new option contract with a new date of expiry on a daily, continuous basis.


COMEX floor traders said investors, however, have greeted the product with little interest, as the contract was rarely traded.


Anthony Neglia, president of Tower Trading and a COMEX gold options floor trader, said that market makers are reluctant to provide liquidity for the high-risk, short-term product, which has failed to garner interest from both institutional and retail investors.


"Statistically, 95 pct of the options go out worthless, so who's going to take the first step" to trade them, Neglia said. He added there was some interest for the product among trading houses.


In a sharp contrast to the weekly options, open interest of CME's popular monthly COMEX gold options currently totals at well over 1 million contracts as more investors are using options to bet on the upside in gold due to economic uncertainty.


© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved

CME Group to allow physical settlement of weekly gold options - MINING FINANCE / INVESTMENT - Mineweb.com