Glencore Eyes ASX Listing to Tap US$3.1 Trillion Pension Pool

Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF) will pursue a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as early as October, attempting to tap into the country’s US$3.1 trillion pension pool following a massive surge in first-half corporate profits.

Chief Executive Gary Nagle said the company is targeting inclusion in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) within 12 months. That initial threshold requires about AU$1.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) in local market capitalization.

The listing requires no new capital raising and will execute through CHESS Depositary Interests. Nagle initiated the strategy following direct appeals from major Australian pension funds, whose mandates restrict overseas allocations.

Australia’s superannuation sector currently holds AU$4.4 trillion (US$ 3.1 trillion) in assets, a figure projected to hit AU$12.4 trillion (US$8.7 trillion) by 2045.

“They have said to us that if there was an ASX line, that they’d be able to invest a lot more in Glencore,” Nagle reportedly told investors during a half-year results call, while adding that the Australian market offers a sophisticated investor base with deep expertise in global resources and commodity-cycle volatility.

The Australian expansion coincides with the expiration of a six-month standstill on merger discussions with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO). While Nagle stated a secondary listing would not alter the mechanics of a potential merger, he acknowledged the previous talks drove local investor interest.

The listing push follows a windfall first half for the Swiss commodity trader, driven by extreme volatility in global energy markets following the escalation of the Middle East conflict.

Glencore reported an 86 percent increase in Group Adjusted EBITDA to US$10.1 billion. Net income attributable to equity holders jumped by more than US$5 billion to reach US$4.4 billion.

Concurrently, the company deployed US$4 billion in first-half capital expenditure to secure land access and operational flexibility across its copper portfolio. Glencore aims to reach 1 million metric tons of annualized copper production by 2028, climbing to 1.6 million tons by 2035.

While Glencore courts Australian capital to fund those copper ambitions, it faces regulatory friction in central Africa.

On July 9, Congolese tax authorities sealed the Kolwezi offices of Glencore’s Kamoto Copper subsidiary over a multibillion-dollar payment dispute. The raid occurred after settlement talks between the company and the state revenue agency collapsed.

The escalation forced DRC President Felix Tshisekedi to intervene. During a July 10 cabinet meeting, Tshisekedi instructed the finance and mining ministries to stop unpredictable bank account seizures and asset freezes, ordering the immediate removal of police and soldiers from mining sites.

The dispute did not disrupt physical extraction at the Kamoto complex, where Glencore holds a 70 percent stake and produces roughly 190,000 metric tons of copper…