Glencore investors push CEO to adopt new debt reduction strategy

London

AFTER a breakfast meeting with a small group of hedge funds in New York last week, Glencore Plc chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg concluded that investors could no longer stomach his famously bullish outlook.

The meeting capped two weeks of discussions with shareholders from North America to Europe after the Swiss miner and trader reported a 56 per cent decline in profit. Mr Glasenberg's plan to trim Glencore's US$30 billion debt by 10 per cent by the end of next year wasn't enough to halt a plunge in the company's market value, which has more than halved to about £17 billion (S$37.1 billion) this year. On Monday, the company announced a strategy to reduce debt much more quickly.