UPDATE 2-TNK-BP may join shareholders’ suit against parent BP
* BP lawyer says no legal grounds for joining the lawsuitBy Vladimir SoldatkinMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Oil company BP’s 50
percent-owned Russian affiliate TNK-BP will find
itself fighting its British parent in court for billions of
dollars in compensation if a board decision next week goes the
way of the other main shareholders.BP and the quartet of billionaires who hold the other half
of Russia’s third largest oil producer have clashed over BP’s
attempt to open up a new Russian investment stream and strike a
new exploration and share swap deal with state-controlled
Rosneft.Through their Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium, the group
of Russian businessmen successfully blocked the Rosneft
deal in May. Rosneft has since turned to U.S. based
Exxon as a replacement partner.Now minority shareholders in the listed subsidiary of 50-50
joint venture TNK-BP Ltd, TNK-BP Holding, are seeking damages of
over $13 billion in a Russian regional court from BP and two BP
nominees on the board of TNK-BP Holding, Peter Charow and
Richard Sloan. TNK-BP Ltd controls 96.5 percent of TNK-BP
Holding. The rest is in free float.A BP spokesman in Moscow said “there is no merit to the
lawsuits against directors since there were in fact no damages
in the form of lost profits.”AAR has said it has no connection with the suit brought by
the TNK-BP minority shareholders. But sources close to the
consortium representing four tycoons — Mikhail Fridman, German
Khan, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik — have said they are
sympathetic to the action.AAR had no immediate comment.BACKING THE LAWSUITDirectors have put forward a motion to be discussed on Oct.
24 that the company should back the lawsuit, a TNK-BP spokesman
said on Tuesday.”At the request of one of the TNK-BP Holding
(THB) directors, on Oct. 24 the Board of Directors of TBH
will consider the question of whether or not to join the lawsuit
being put forward by one of its minority shareholders,” the
spokesman said.TNK-BP Holding has a nine-member board — with four each for
BP and AAR. The sole independent director, David Lasfargue,
would have an effective casting vote on whether to pursue the
action.”The prerogative of deciding TBH participation in
these legal proceedings lies within the exclusive jurisdiction
of the Board of Directors of TNK-BP Holding and does not involve
participation of the company’s management,” the TNK-BP spokesman
said.Reached in Paris by telephone, Lasfargue declined to comment
on the case.In the lawsuit, filed in the West Siberian town of Tyumen,
TNK-BP’s base, Prokhorov claims TNK-BP suffered damages because
BP decided not to act via its existing Russian joint venture in
the Rosneft deal, in violation of an exclusivity clause in the
TNK-BP shareholder agreement.There is a potential snag facing the case of plaintiff,
Andrey Prokhorov.Konstantin Lukoyanov, a lawyer for BP, said a Russian judge
had refused Prokhorov more time to attract other investors to
his case. He holds less than 1 percent and needs to get over the
1 percent threshold in order to legally file a lawsuit in such
cases.”As of today, TNK-BP Holding has no legal right to join the
minority shareholders lawsuit,” Lukoyanov said.
“Dragon King” marries commoner in reclusive Bhutan
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck wore a crown adorned with a raven’s head during the sumptuous ceremony in this 17th-century fortress, as 21-year-old student Jetsun Pema, daughter of an airline pilot, received a crown embroidered with silk.In a nation of 700,000 people where television was only introduced in 1999, the ceremony was broadcast live. Thousands of people, dressed in traditional colored robes, stood outside. Some monks chanted, others played drums and cymbals.Wangchuck is revered as this insular nation slowly embraces democracy after his father abdicated in 2006 to introduce parliamentary elections. The monarchy is seen as helping stabilize a fragile democracy in a conflict-ridden region.HORNS IN THE MISTIn the morning mist, long horns sounded across the Punakha valley as the bride arrived in a procession of singers, government ministers and relatives across an ancient footbridge, all led by a white horse. Baby elephants wearing ceremonial robes waited nearby.The king and his father entered a sacred chamber holding the embalmed body of the 17th-century remains of Bhutan’s founder, where they received holy Buddhist scarves and a chalice of blessed curd that represents eternal life.The king’s father, accompanied by his four wives, handed the blessed colored scarves to a nervous-looking bride.”I am a very happy man today,” said Kesang Chopel, 41, a Buddhist saffron-robed monk who watched the couple’s arrival in Bhutan’s former ancient capital. “There is the king, and there are so many masters here, lamas. There is a special feeling.”Posters of the couple adorn just about every building, lamppost and roundabout in the capital, Thimphu, three hours drive away. School children have published poems in honor of the queen, calling her “the moon, a beautiful heroine and the lotus flower”.Monks have held dawn prayer sessions in remote mountain valleys and Bhutan’s airline has had to add extra flights to deal with the demand of visitors from abroad.IMAGE OF SHANGRI-LABhutan, known as the “Land of the Thunder Dragon” has been happy to promote a Shangri-la image with its snow-capped peaks and largely untouched forests. People must still wear the traditional knee-length robes in public.Bhutan is famed for its “Gross National Happiness” index, an alternative to GDP that measures personal well-being and the environment rather than focusing on economic growth.It has been reluctant to open up to the rest of the world. Tourism was only allowed in the 1970s, and when the first car arrived in the 1950s many people thought it was a fire-eating dragon. The capital’s attempts to have traffic lights were thwarted by residents complaining they were unsightly”The 31-year-old monarch is known as the “people’s king” for his relaxed manner with his subjects, and - sporting sideburns and swept-back hair - he is a pin-up for many teenage girls as far away as Thailand.But Bhutan’s fifth king, affectionately known as K5, also provides the checks and balances on an unsure democracy where political parties did not exist four years ago.”The royal wedding has ensured the continuity of the monarchy,” said Tshering Tobgay, Bhutan’s opposition leader. “And monarchy has helped strengthen our democracy.”A successful monarchy may be key to bringing stability to a kingdom that sits amid a region racked by civil conflict and war. Neighboring Nepal’s monarch was recently abolished, while India absorbed the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim and China, Tibet.Wangchuck is not expected to follow the example of his father, who married four sisters from a wealthy family. Polygamy is allowed in Bhutan, but it is rare.”While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart,” Wangchuck said on an announcing his marriage to parliament. “These qualities together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience will make her a great servant to the nation.”The new king, a keen basketball player and archer, has jettisoned that reclusive and elitist image. He lives in a cottage in Thimphu, and often invites his subjects for tea.He has spent months touring Bhutan’s remote villages - often walking among villagers holding his bride-to-be by the hand.But while an older generation will bow and refuse to look their king in the eye, a younger generation is happy to converse with their monarch.His Oxford University education has helped him develop a broader outlook that underscores how Bhutan is aware it must reach out to the world for investment to appease its growing urban and young population eager for jobs and the trappings of 21st-century life.The king has other powers that make him popular. He can grant scarce farming land in a country where farmers that make up two thirds of the population, and he helps run disaster prevention.
