Boost for London as Rio Tinto rejects calls to ditch its UK itemizing

Dual structure: Mining giant Rio Tinto has a primary listing in London and also trades shares on the Sydney market

Rio Tinto has rejected calls from an investor to ditch its UK listing and concentrate on Australia – in a boost for the London Stock Exchange.

The mining giant has a primary listing in London and also trades shares on the Sydney market.

But activist investor Palliser Capital had urged the group to unify the corporate structure in Australia and ditch the London listing. Palliser also argued that the miner’s dual structure is a barrier to making acquisitions and had resulted in Rio Tinto shares trading at a £24billion discount to those listed in Australia.

But chief executive Jakob Stausholm told the Wall Street Journal yesterday: ‘It’s very clear that it does not make economic sense to unify Rio Tinto. Our conclusion is that it would destroy value.’