Kyivstar signs deal to let Ukrainians trade its Nasdaq stock

By Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro

GDANSK, June 26 (Reuters) - Kyivstar said on Friday it signed an agreement with Ukraine's securities regulator to explore giving domestic investors access to its Nasdaq-listed shares through local brokers, marking a first step toward opening trading in the stock inside Ukraine.

The deal would offer a rare workaround for wartime financial controls that have made it difficult for Ukrainians to trade foreign-domiciled assets.

The memorandum of understanding with the National Securities and Stock Market Commission was signed at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk. Chief Executive Oleksandr Komarov told Reuters the plan was not a dual listing but a structure that would let a limited number of existing shares trade in Ukraine through a designated broker.

"We want to allow Ukrainians to invest in Kyivstar shares listed on Nasdaq," Komarov told Reuters.

Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator and a unit of Dubai-based VEON, became the first Ukrainian company to list on a U.S. exchange last year.

Komarov said a full local listing could be considered only after the war.

"We want to open this up as a first step," he said. "Maybe after the war, somewhere in the future, we might consider a proper local listing."

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk)