Federal Grid on charm offensive, Russian stake sale eyed

Directors and executives from Russia’s Federal Grid Company visited London this week after the release of positive results and ahead of a potential $450m sale by the government of a stake in the $10bn company. Federal Grid has gone further than any other state-owned Russian company in updating its corporate governance arrangements, appointing an independent director, Ernesto Ferlenghi, as chairman, and he told EuroWeek that the decision to sell the stake is an important example of a new era of transparency.