Polymetal shareholders approve redomiciliation to Kazakhstan

Polymetal, the biggest Russian producer of silver and gold, is going to redomiciliate its business in Kazakhstan. The move has recently been approved by 92% of shareholders of the company after nine months of discussions, according to the Qazaqstan Association of Minority Shareholders’ channel on Telegram.

As of today, the company is still registered with Jersey Island.

The first reports about the possible redomiciliation of Polymetal to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) appeared last fall. At the time, the company also reported that it postponed the Pacific Hydrometallurgical Plant project in the Khabarovsk Krai, Russia.

Later, Vitaly Nesis, CEO of Polymetal, said that he obtained political support from the government of Kazakhstan, which is expecting the company to pour investments into the country’s economy. The construction of a hydrometallurgical plant is one of the possible ways for such investments.

Polymetal runs assets both in Russia and Kazakhstan. ICT Group by Alexander Nesis and his partners control 24% of the company while 75.2% of shares are freely traded in the market.

Common shares of Polymetal have been trading on AIX since April 2019. The stock is traded in U.S. dollars and can be easily converted to shares on the LSE and MOEX. In March 2022, the Russian government put Jersey on the list of «unfriendly jurisdictions» that caused serious problems for Polymetal’s assets in Russia. Therefore, the company was forced to adjust itself to this new reality.

Moreover, the relocation to Kazakhstan is a result of a deliberate strategy to split the company’s assets between Kazakhstan and Russia to avoid the potential risk of sanctions. This strategy turned out to be justified as the U.S. government imposed sanctions against the Russian subsidiary of Polymetal in May 2023.