This Day In Market History: First Russian Company Lists On NYSE

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened? On Nov. 15, 1996, Vimpel Communications became the first Russian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Where The Market Was: The Dow finished the day at 6,348.03. The S&P 500 traded at 737.62.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1996, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales got divorced. NASA launched the Mars Global Surveyor. The average American income was $36,300.

Russia Meets Wall Street: Vimpel Communications is a Russian telecommunications company founded in Moscow in 1992. Less than five years after the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, Vimpel became the first Russian company to list its shares on the NYSE. The stock traded under the ticker VIP until 2010.

Over the next two decades, the company continued to grow via acquisitions. In 2013, Vimpel switched its listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq. In 2015, CEO Jo Lunder was arrested on corruption charges, and a year later the SEC ordered VimpelCom to pay $795 million to resolve violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In 2017, VimpelCom renamed itself VEON Ltd VEON as part of a push to rebrand the company as a technology company rather than a telecom company.

Today, VEON’s subsidiaries include OJSC VimpelCom, KB Impuls, Kyivstar, Sri Lanka Telecom (44.98% stake) and Global Telecom Holding. The stock has been a disappointing investment as of late, generating a total return loss of 16.1% over the past three years.