Salmon. (Photo: Camanchaca)

Seafood stocks surge as salmon producer eyes Norway listing

CHILE
Friday, September 22, 2017, 21:50 (GMT + 9)

Shares in Chilean fishing companies surged on Thursday after salmon producer Pesquera Camanchaca SA said it was eyeing a listing in Norway, bringing a rare bout of attention to the illiquid sector.

Camanchaca's shares rose 15.6 per cent to close at 37 Chilean pesos (USD 0.0593), after it said on Wednesday it had hired Norwegian bank DNB ASA to evaluate a possible Oslo listing of a third of its shares.

That rally spilled over Multiexport Foods SA, whose shares rose 8.9 per cent to close at 221 Chilean pesos (USD 0.3539), and Empresas AquaChile SA, which rose 9.8 per cent to close at 302 Chilean pesos (USD 0.4837). All three were among Thursday's largest gainers in Latin America.

"It's giving more visibility to the sector," said Guillermo Araya, analyst at brokerage Renta 4 Chile.

Chile is the world's second-largest salmon producer, after Norway, and several fisheries are listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange. But the sector often flies under the radar in a the mining-focused economy, which produces a third of the world's copper.

Chile's 2017 salmon output is expected to rebound to 725,000 tonnes this year after a massive algal bloom last year sent production tumbling to 675,000 tonnes, the lowest level since 2011. That has come despite fears that stricter environmental regulations would harm output.

Rising output, coupled with surging prices as outbreaks of sea lice and disease have limited Norway's output, have lifted Chilean salmon stocks in the past two years. Multiexport is up 16 per cent so far this year, after surging 206 per cent in 2016, while Camanchanca is up 17 per cent in 2017 after last year's 117 per cent rise.

Source: Felipe Iturrieta/Reuters

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