Fertilizer Markets and Finance

Members of the Swiss parliament try to figure out if it is possible to prevent the appearance of Lukashenka’s company in the country.

The media report about plans of the Belarusian authorities to register Soyuzkali firm in the Canton of Zug. It will be a joint Belarusian-Russian venture with Belaruskali and Uralkali companies owning 50% of shares each.

Under the laws of the Canton of Zug, the details will be kept in secret until the end of the official registration process, Radio Svaboda reports.

According to  Нandelszeitung, due to the joint ownership and Swiss registration address,  Alyaksandr Lukashenka will be able to avoid sanctions and make profit without obstacles by selling Belarus’s main resource – potash fertilizers. Besides, the new company, which will be controlled by Minsk, will have more possibilities to receive loans due to its residence in Switzerland. The Swiss registration address will also give a more favourable tax regime.

The Swiss government declines to give comments to journalists. Meanwhile, members of the Swiss People’s Party and the Green Party insist that members of the Zug government should find out if it is possible to prevent the appearance of Lukashenka’s firm in Switzerland. If there are no such possibilities, legislation should be changed, they think.

Swiss commodity supplier Glencore International obtained approval from the Canadian federal government on Sunday for its application to buy up Canadian agribusiness titan Viterra Inc., bringing the $6.1 billion deal that much closer to completion.

Canadian Industry Minister Christian Paradise approved the bid under the Investment Canada Act, saying in a press release that the deal “is likely to be of net benefit to Canada” and lauding Glencore for its “commitments to Canada.”

The approval is not without controversy, however, with Deputy Liberal Party leader Ralph Goodall criticizing the Harper Conservatives for “rubber-stamping” the foreign buy-out of a key Canadian company on the sly.

The deal currently awaits approvals from relevant authorities in China, New Zealand and Australia, with some suggesting that it may not meet its deadline if China’s Ministry of Commerce does not give the go ahead on schedule.

Glencore plans to ramp up Viterra’s planned capital spending in Canada by more than $100 million over a five year period, and has stated that it will support grain industry undertakings in Manitoba.

Viterra’s Regina head office is also slated to remain the headquarters of the company’s North American agricultural operations.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Glencore International PLC said on Friday that Canada’s Competition Bureau will not stand in the way of its C$6.1-billion (3.79 billion pounds) takeover bid for topCanadian grain handler Viterra Inc .

The Competition Bureau decision removes one of two major regulatory obstacles to one of the biggest deals in years in the agricultural sector.

Swiss-based Glencore said in a press release that it received a letter on Thursday from the bureau, which operates independently of the government, saying it would not oppose the takeover.

The deal still needs the approval of the Canadian government because it is a foreign takeover. It must also be approved by Viterra shareholders.

Read more at Yahoo News

Oil and natural gas rich Qatar has upped its stake in Xstrata, currently negotiating a $90 billion merger with Glencore International, to just over 5%, making the country’s sovereign wealth fund the diversified miner’s third largest shareholder.

Swiss commodities giant Glencore already owns 34% of Xstrata. Glencore is offering 2.8 shares for every one of Xstrata, but aside from second largest shareholder BlackRock, other institutional investors have threatened to block the deal.

The Qatari investment should provide Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg the necessary backing he needs to push through the deal. Glasenberg and Xstrata CEO Mick Davis have embarked on a roadshow to sell the deal. 75% of shareholders must vote in favour of the deal.

Read more at Mining.com

OTTAWA — Glencore International, the Swiss commodities trader, entered the North American agriculture market on Tuesday with a widely anticipated deal to acquire Viterra, the largest Canadian grain company, for $6.2 billion.

The all-cash transaction comes months before the end to the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on export sales of a variety of grains. Canada is the world’s third-largest wheat exporter and the leading exporter of durum wheat, the variety most prized by pasta makers.

A Viterra grain terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Glencore is best known as a mineral trading company and is currently trying to get regulatory and antitrust approval to buy the remainder of the mining firm Xstrata it does not own for $41 billion.

But it has been gradually expanding its agricultural business beyond Europe andRussia into other grain markets including Australia, where it started operations nine years ago and where Viterra also has substantial assets. With Canada’s strong position as a wheat exporter, the deal gives the company much more global influence than it had previously in grain trading.

Read more at DealB%k