Rosneft reveals $11bn share float

Rosneft is expected to make its market debut next month

Russian oil giant Rosneft has valued itself at between $60bn and $80bn (£33bn-£44bn) ahead of floating its shares on the stock market.

The state oil firm plans to raise $10.8bn to $11.6bn by making its debut on the London and Moscow markets.

In a statement, the group added it had agreed a price range of between $5.85 and $7.85 per share.

Rosneft said it would begin a road show on Monday setting out plans for the initial public offering.

Experts widely expect the group to make its market debut in the middle of next month but a date has yet to be set.

'Great interest'

"We see great interest in the transaction and have already received requests for a substantial share of the offering, including from several large strategic players," Rosneft chief executive Sergei Bogdanchikov said in a statement.

"We look forward to meeting with investors over the coming weeks and in the future becoming one of the world's largest publicly traded energy companies."

Russia will use the cash raised from the stake sale to pay back a $7.5bn loan taken out last year.

Rosneft's largest shareholder, state-owned Rosneftegaz, borrowed $7.5bn from a group of banks last year to buy additional shares in Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, thereby increasing state control over the gas giant.

Rosneft's flotation has attracted controversy, not least in London where there are concerns from some quarters over the standard of Russia's corporate governance.

The company is one of the world's largest oil firms and Rosneft made a net profit of $802m in the first quarter of 2006.