When Oleg Deripaska's UC Rusal floated plans for a $9bn-plus listing last year, the share issue from the outset was a test case for whether a company forged out of an industry once wracked with crime could win a London listing.

The flotation had already been delayed last September when its shareholders - including Mr Deripaska, who owns 66 per cent of UC Rusal via his vast Basic Element industrial conglomerate - cited poor market conditions for the postponement.