One of the recent trends involves CIS and Eastern European companies migrating their listings on the London Stock Exchange (LSE): stepping up from their existing listing of global depositary receipts (GDRs) to a premium listing of shares, thereby opening up the chance to join the FTSE UK indices. For example, miners Evraz and Polymetal both made the switch from GDRs to a premium listing in November 2011 with the Bank of Georgia and Polyus Gold joining them in February 2012 and June 2012, respectively. While the demanding eligibility criteria for a premium listing is a significant hurdle, other companies from the region, and beyond, are known to be considering the benefits of following the same path.

Issuers in the CIS and Eastern Europe and other emerging markets looking to tap the London capital markets have typically done so through the issuance and listing of GDRs. This article considers why other GDR issuers have been considering moving to a premium listing in recent years.