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Amplats on track to spin off from parent Anglo this year

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Miner will be only listed platinum stock on London bourse

By Felix Njini and Clara Denina

CAPE TOWN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Anglo American Platinum

is seeing a high level of investor interest in the

business as it prepares to spin off as an independent entity

from its parent Anglo American, Amplats CEO Craig Miller

said on Wednesday.

The spinoff is part of the group's restructuring strategy,

aimed at fighting off a $49 billion takeover bid from bigger

rival BHP to focus on more profitable copper and iron

ore assets.

Amplats is due to be separated by mid-year, which will also

result in the company changing its name, Miller said, without

giving details.

With a secondary listing in London, Amplats will be the only

PGMs (Platinum Group Metals ( PLG )) producer on the bourse, possibly

appealing to new investors, he added.

"There is a lot of interest in that (the standalone

business)," Miller told Reuters on the sidelines of the Mining

Indaba conference in Cape town.

"(London) is a lot easier... It might just be more

attractive for certain fund managers to invest via the London

Stock Exchange."

Prices of the white metals used primarily in autocatalysts

have slid in the past two years, with demand hit by

the rise of battery electric vehicles, which don't require them.

As part of its strategic overhaul, Anglo American sold its

coal assets and is in the process of selling its nickel business

in Brazil. It also plans to divest its De Beers diamond unit.

South Africa's platinum miners, among the country's largest

foreign currency earners, employ around 170,000 workers, but the

industry has cut production and shed thousands of jobs in

response to lower demand.

Amplats, the biggest platinum miner by value, said recent

dialled-down demand for electric vehicles could help boost

interest in the metal.

"There is a lot of interest in PGMs because of the role they

play in transportation, be that in hybrids, and potentially in

the future, in the next decade, around hydrogen," Miller said.

He added that lack of investment into new platinum mines

could limit supply, lending support to prices.

"There's no significant new supply of PGMs coming to the

market," Miller said.