EIG to list in Hong Kong

US asset manager EIG Global Energy Partners, which holds stakes in renewable energy projects around the world as well as investing in hydrocarbon assets, is to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according The Financial Times.

Last week China Investment Corp, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, took a minority stake in EIG for an undisclosed sum although this believed not to be related directly to the decision to list in Hong Kong. According to people familiar with the matter, the decision reflects the unattractive US regulatory environment.

Gateway, an EIG subsidiary, currently has a listing on Goldman Sach’s GSTrUE, a quasi-public exchange, and before the financial crisis the plan was to eventually migrate to the NYSE.

According to the FT EIG, with about USD10 billion to invest in the energy sector, considered listing in both Australia and Singapore before settling on Hong Kong. According to an EIG source quoted by the paper, “Hong Kong was the most appropriate” and the regulators the most welcoming. “It is part of EIG’s plan to ramp up in this part of the world.”

Blair Thomas, EIG’s chief executive, told the FT that much of the company’s focus is on unconventional resources, including shale gas. “Gas is a destination, not a bridge to anything else. Over time, its share of the global energy mix will increase. It will eventually undermine all the subsidies for renewables,” he predicted.