CUDECO POISED TO ATTRACT MORE ASIAN INVESTORS

COPPER miner CuDeco (ASX: CDU) is poised to tap further into Asian capital markets after making good on a long-held ambition to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The move will lead to a dual listing of CuDeco shares, allowing shareholders to sell their stock on either the Australian or Hong Kong exchanges.

"The dual listing for CuDeco in Hong Kong will open new avenues and allow CuDeco to pursue future opportunities in Australia and elsewhere, as we move forward to develop CuDeco's long-term plan by developing our company into a major mining house," says the company in a statement to the ASX.

"Hong Kong is the financial hub of Asia and the listing will positon the company on a major global platform providing access to global institutional investors wanting to take advantage of the potential opportunities in the mining and metals industry in Australia during these times.

"The new chapter in CuDeco's history has always been a focus of the company's long-term plans and goals."

Chairman Wayne McCrae has sought a listing of CuDeco shares in Hong Kong for the past five years, and late last year fended off media speculation that he was also looking at a Singapore listing.

The company's shares were placed in a trading halt on December 31 pending today's announcement.

The shares, buoyed a day earlier by high grade ore discoveries at its Rocklands project in north-west Queensland, resumed trading this morning.

The shares fell more than 13 per cent after their meteoric rise on December 30, trading around $1.70. They are still well off their 2014 lows of $1.13 reached two months ago.

Since then, CuDeco has had a raft of positive news.

Its biggest Chinese shareholder, the state-owned Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering Co, has agreed to acquire a bigger stake in the company in exchange for electrical work it is undertaking at Rocklands.

The move, which will lift Sinosteel's stake in CuDeco to 19.9 per cent for a total outlay of up to $30 million, has eased cashflow pressure on the company and reaffirms Chinese interest in the Rocklands project.

CuDeco today affirms that the dual listing will not require the issue of fresh capital, which has been touted previously by some observers.

Meanwhile, CuDeco has appointed a management team to pursue the Hong Kong listing, the timing of which is still to be determined. A prospectus will be issued to shareholders ahead of the listing date.