by Alastair Marsh, FT Tilt
Central Asia-focused oil and gas producer Tethys Petroleum began trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on Monday. The company is already listed in Toronto and Almaty.
Tethys has not raised any new funds or issued new shares in connection with the London listing and the interests of existing shareholders will not be diluted, the company said in a statement.
In addition, the oil producer will keep its main listing for its ordinary shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TPL) and will retain its secondary listing on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange. In London the company will trade under the ticker ‘TPL’.
“Our listing on the main LSE exchange represents a further major stage in the development of our company and will, we believe draw attention to our progress to UK and international investors,” said David Robson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tethys.
Robson told FT Tilt at Tethys’ listing ceremony on Monday the company wants to make itself known to the London investor base in case it looks to raise capital in the future, although he stressed the firm has no immediate plans for capital raising.
Cayman Islands-incorporated Tethys is focused on the exploration and development of oil and gas resources in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The company is also reportedly bidding for rights to drill for oil in Afghanistan.
The firm posted a net loss of $29.6m in 2010 and a net loss of $21.7m in the preceding year.
Tethys joins a small pool of central Asian oil companies already listed in London, including Zhaikmunai (ZKM) of Kazakhstan and state-owned compatriot KazMunayGas (KMG).
It is also not the first Toronto-listed miner with a central Asia focus to turn to London. Canadian Nelson Resources was listed on the London bourse in the early 2000’s before being acquired by Russia’s Lukoil in 2005.