The Guinean government has asked UC RusAl to deposit $430 million as security in a dispute over the firm's troubled alumina business in Guinea, the Russian aluminum giant said on Wednesday.
The government of the West African country has said RusAl must use funds from its initial public offering held in Hong Kong this week, which raised $2.24 billion, to finally settle the situation around the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex, which Guinea claims was illegally acquired by RusAl.
The Guinean government earlier wrote a letter to the Hong Kong stock exchange, warning subscribers to RusAl's share offering that it had claims worth $860 million on RusAl that could affect the stock value during the IPO.
RusAl, the world's biggest aluminum producer, is fighting attempts by the Guinean junta that seized power in the West African country last year to renationalize the Friguia alumina refinery, which RusAl bought from Guinea in 2006 for $19 million.
The Guinean junta has valued the asset at $257 million and accused RusAl of failure to pay a large sum of taxes and royalty, which has allegedly brought up the company's debt to $860 million.
RusAl has repeatedly said it acquired the Guinean refinery, which produces about 52,000 metric tons of alumina a month, legitimately and insists that the dispute be resolved in an international tribunal.
Guinea is the world's biggest exporter of bauxite, which is refined into alumina that is then processed into aluminum.
MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti)
