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Polyus Gold to be included in FTSE indices

Polyus Gold will be included in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series and the FTSE All World Equity Index Series.

MOSCOW (Reuters)  - 

London-listed gold miner Polyus Gold said on Tuesday it would be included into two FTSE Index Series after the markets close on March 15 in a move that is likely to attract more investors.

Polyus, Russia's largest gold miner, will be included in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series and the FTSE All World Equity Index Series, the company said in a statement.

Polyus obtained a London premium listing last June, a step toward inclusion into the prestigious FTSE 100 index, although it has not qualified for inclusion due to an insufficient free float of 22 percent.

Spokesman Sergei Lavrinenko declined to comment on whether Polyus still planned to increase its free float and was seeking inclusion in FTSE 100.

Polyus Gold's market capitalisation stands at $9.7 billion. Last month Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov sold his 38 percent stake in the company to two Russian investors for $3.6 billion.

Its shares jumped 3.5 percent in early trade on Tuesday. Shares were up 2.2 percent at 217 pence by 0818 GMT while the FTSE 350 Mining index was down 0.3 percent.

The FTSE Global Equity Index Series covers over 7,200 securities in 47 different countries, while the FTSE All-World Index Series is the aggregate of more than 2,800 stocks from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, Polyus said.