Moscow — The Mosaic Co. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. executives last week weighed in on a recent bond investment in which a Chinese company could gain a sizeable stake in Russian potash giant Uralkali. “The convertible bond in China as far as I know is a financial exercise,” said PotashCorp President and CEO Bill Doyle. “I don’t think Mr. Putin is going to allow the Chinese to manage the Russian potash industry.” Speaking about the Chinese Investment Corp. (CIC), Mosaic President and CEO James Prokopanko said they are not an organization designed to subsidize potash into China or improve agricultural cost competitiveness. “They’re an organization designed to earn returns on the capital they invest … I think they are going to be driven by the same economic factors that we are, a return on capital.” Still, others speculate that the deal could give the Chinese leverage or insight in negotiating potash contracts going forward. Uralkali said Nov. 9 that it has notified certain key shareholders about the completion of the issuance of bonds exchangeable into ordinary shares of Uralkali in a privately negotiated transaction to VTB Capital plc and Chengdong Investment Corp., a unit of the China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC. The bonds are due 2014, and assuming full conversion they will be exchangeable into ordinary shares of Uralkali, representing 14.5 percent of the issued share capital of Uralkali as of Nov. 9. Uralkali is not a party to any agreement regarding this transaction.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain