MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) - The ongoing ‘correction' in the price of Sberbank's [RTS: SBER] shares will help push prices up when an additional share issue is held, Russian market analysts said Tuesday.
Sberbank's supervisory board earlier approved an additional share issue worth 200 billion rubles (about $7.5 billion), with placement is expected in February 2007.
On January 29, Russia's major retail savings bank saw its shares on MICEX traded at 91,000 rubles ($3,420), but when Sberbank Chairman Andrei Kazmin said the minimum share price at the additional issue will be only 68,000 rubles ($2,550), the price fell to 81,500 ($3,040).
Deutsche UFG analysts said the market read Kazmin's statement as an indication that additional shares could be placed at prices far below the market.
Dmitry Aksenov of ZAO Energokapital, said the correction of Sberbank shares will be ‘insubstantial' and ‘short-term.'
Many experts say that the minimum share price is not a price guideline for the upcoming additional share issue, but is designed to keep at bay ‘unprofessional investors.'
