Another Korean shareholder exits LPG terminal project in Primorye

VLADIVOSTOK. Nov 19 (Interfax) - Korean company HL Holdings Corporation, which owned a 4.75% stake in Vostok LPG LLC, the operator of a project to build a liquefied petroleum gas export terminal in Primorye, has exited the company, changes in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities made on November 18 showed.

This stake is now controlled by management. South Korea's JSC Hyundai Chemical Co. Ltd, which also held a 4.75% stake in Vostok LPG, pulled out of the company earlier.

The updated list of shareholders after the changes includes Salaud Amerkhanov and Ruslan Galinsky with 41.25% each, management with 9.5%, and South Korea's E1 Corp with 8%.

It was reported earlier that there were disagreements between the Russian and Korean investors in the project. Amerkhanov tried through the courts to exclude the Korean shareholders from the project, arguing that they were violating their obligations by not participating in founders' meetings, not signing the minutes of work meetings and so on. But the court dismissed the motion. Hyundai Chemical later left on its own.

The court materials also said that the nonparticipation of the foreign shareholders was preventing the signing of a deal with Gazprombank , which planned to participate in the project "as a potential partner and [was] interested in financing all the company's expensed on the implementation of the project up to 20 billion rubles."

E1 Corp later asked the court to prohibit changes to Vostok LPG's charter. The litigation of this matter are continuing in the Primorye Arbitration Court.