Reuters quoted a top executive from Russian Railways the country government owned rail operator said that the unlisted company would like to float shares in Hong Kong.

While the executive did not specify timing, his comments underscore the growing interest of Russian companies in listing in Hong Kong following the high profile IPO process here of Russian aluminium giant, UC RUSAL.

Mr Avtandil Gorgiladze the company Vice President while speaking at the Asia Financial Forum said while there was no timing for a Hong Kong IPO, he expected the company to pursue one in the near term. He said that "I hope in the near future, but it depends on the circumstances."

The offering would be the first non-Asian company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange an exchange that led the world in IPO offerings last year, hauling in more than USD 30 billion in proceeds.

The UC RUSAL IPO which has seen delays and much skepticism from investors and regulators in part because of the company's huge debt load has stoked interest in other Russian companies aiming to list outside of Russia.

Mr Dimitry Afanasiev a RUSAL board member was scheduled to attend the forum in Hong Kong today, but did not make an appearance.

Attracting more global companies is something the Hong Kong exchange has openly tried to court in the last year.

(Sourced from Reuters)