Rosneft shares make strong debut

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — The share price of Russian energy giant Rosneft has soared by almost 3.0 percent in its first hour of trade following its official stock market debut.

At around 0923 GMT, Rosneft shares showed a gain of 2.57 percent to 7.58 dollars, compared with the unofficial closing price on Tuesday.

The initial public offering (IPO) was priced at 7.55 US dollars per share with shares listed on the Moscow and London stock exchanges. Trading in Moscow had begun on Monday.

A spokesperson for the London Stock Exchange told AFP that the shares -- which are dollar-denominated global depositary receipts (GDRs) -- were traded on the LSE's international order book and were not eligible for any of the FTSE indices.

Conditional trading in London had begun...