Gazprom held the 10th annual Investor Day for the first time in the Asia-Pacific Region – in Hong Kong (February 3) and Singapore (February 5).
Taking part in the events were Andrey Kruglov and Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairmen of the Gazprom Management Committee; Dmitry Lyugai and Vsevolod Cherepanov, Members of the Gazprom Management Committee as well as heads of the Company’s specialized structural units and subsidiaries.
The events were met with great interest by the investment community. In Hong Kong the Investor Day was attended by over 110 portfolio managers and analysts from major international investment funds and credit institutions. In Singapore it attracted more than 120 visitors. These included analysts from such investment banks as Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, BNP Baribas London, Citibank, UBS, Otkritie Capital and Gazprombank. For instance, last year the Investor Day had brought together over 220 portfolio managers and analysts. Therefore, Asian investors showed more interest in the event than the conventional financial centers.
As part of the Investor Day, around 30 individual meetings with major Asian investment funds took place, question and answer sessions, in Hong Kong as well, were webcast live. Special attention was paid to Gazprom’s long-term financial strategy amidst the altered geopolitical environment, as well as to its export policy and efforts aimed at improving the corporate governance. It was highlighted that Gazprom was highly resistant to crisis events, in particular, it had a low debt burden, strong financial stability and free access to debt financing markets.
Portfolio managers and analysts expressed keen interest in the issues of Gazprom’s large-scale cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries in gas supply, joint hydrocarbon production and advancement of the regional fuel market. It was stressed that the contract for gas supply to China had become an unparalleled deal which had turned Gazprom into the strategic energy partner of Chinese economy, the largest one in the Asia-Pacific; moreover, the contract would considerably affect the global energy and geopolitical environment.
In addition, it was pointed out that Gazprom was engaged in increasing its liquidity and making the Company’s shares more accessible for investors, including those from the Asia-Pacific. Gazprom’s global depositary receipts were included into the quotation list of the Singapore Exchange, which became an important step towards enhancing the international investment base. At present the Company is considering the possibility of getting a listing at the Hong Kong Exchange where the securities of such petroleum majors as PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC are traded.
