SUAL's main owner Viktor Vekselberg (left) and Rusal owner Oleg Deripaska at an October 9 press conference. Vekselberg had said from then that the merged United Company Rusal would go public. Reports now say Rusal will list in November. - reuters

United Company Rusal, the world's biggest aluminum producer, plans to hold an initial public offering of its shares in November, a Russian news agency cited the company's board chairman as saying Tuesday.

UC Rusal was formed this year in a three-way merger between Russia's No. 1 producer Rusal, its rival Sual and the aluminum assets of Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore.

The company produces some 12 per cent of all aluminum manufactured worldwide. At the time of the merger the companies said that they planned to float a chunk of the combined company's stock, possibly in London.

UC Rusal board chairman Viktor Vekselberg said the parameters of the IPO could be announced in August or September, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. He said the actual size of the stake to be sold was not of crucial importance to the company's managers.

"The main thing for us is to become a publicly listed company," RIA-Novosti quoted him as saying.

Analysts have suggested that the disclosure requirements of an international listing could prove prohibitively grueling for the company. The industry from which Rusal emerged was infamous in the 1990s for questionable business tactics and violence.

- AP