MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) - The shares of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom rose by 2% Friday after President Putin signed legislation on the liberalization of the company's shares.
"The market has responded positively to the decrees on the liberalization of the gas giant's shares. Before the news, Gazprom shares cost 194.5 rubles per share (about $6.70) but rose to almost 200 rubles per share (about $6.95), or by 2%, with crisp sale volumes," Konstantin Gulyayev, a leading analyst with the Region group of companies, said.
He added that later in the day, the share price underwent a slight downward correction.
Gulyayev said the Gazprom shares could undergo a more serious downward correction in the short-term but that in the next 12 months they were expected to grow.
In the medium-term perspective, the liberalization of Gazprom shares will have a positive effect on the company's capitalization, he said.
The news of the liberalization of Gazprom shares sent the prices of other Russian companies up.
