Tycoon Slim's miner Frisco surges in Mexico listing

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's bet on listing his mining company Minera Frisco paid off on Thursday as investors flocked to get a piece of the metals venture.

Slim, who made his fortune by building one of the world's biggest telecommunications empires, has been ramping up his mining business to capture record metals prices, which are rising on China's growing appetite for commodities and investor demand for safe-haven gold.

Slim's plan to spin off Minera Frisco and a real estate company from his conglomerate Grupo Carso sent its shares soaring in 2010 and added billions to his fortune.

"All his companies have gone up, but Grupo Carso's gain has been a big part of Slim getting to the top of the rich list," said Rogelio Gallegos, a fund manager at brokerage Actinver in Mexico City. "The whole market likes commodities."

Shares of Frisco (MFRISCOA1.MX) gained 26.33 percent to 38.07 pesos on Thursday in their first day of trading.

Rumors are flying that Slim might put his billions to work with other precious metals mining acquisitions. But Slim may be loath to pay high for companies riding the commodities boom.

"Slim will only buy a company when the price is right, never at a premium. He will look for some opportunities, but I don't think he is in any hurry," Gallegos said.

Slim became rich by taking over Mexico's telephone monopoly, launching cellphone operator America Movil (AMXL.MX) and buying up companies across the Americas. Slim's telecoms, Grupo Carso and his bank Inbursa (GFINBURO.MX) account for more than one-third of the value of Mexico's stock exchange. His wealth exceeded $50 billion in 2010, according to Forbes.

After the latest spin-offs, Grupo Carso (GCARSOA1.MX) will still hold assets like Sanborns department stores, an oil well drilling operation, a building company and a copper wire manufacturer.

TOO PRICEY?

Slim and his family received close to four-fifths of the new shares of Minera Frisco and real estate business Inmuebles Carso (INCARSOB1.MX), in line with their holdings of Grupo Carso.

Grupo Carso's price jumped when the spin-off was announced in August last year, helping its stock price nearly double in 2010, but the stock recently pared gains. The company's total market capitalization rose by more than $5 billion since Slim's August announcement to around $14.7 billion before the listing, according to Reuters data.

After Thursday's trading, the market capitalization of the three separate companies together totaled nearly $1 billion more than before the separation.

Few analysts follow Grupo Carso very closely since its stock is thinly traded and is held mostly by Slim. Some were baffled by the gains in the share price and complained that Slim has been miserly in providing detailed information on the companies.

Analysts at Citigroup, HSBC and Santander all had deemed Grupo Carso overvalued in the run-up to the listing.

Minera Frisco's mines produce zinc, gold, lead, silver and copper. Gold and copper have been hitting record highs and silver is near a 30-year peak.

The least amount of information was available on Inmuebles Carso, which buys, sells and develops real estate. Uncertainty about its prospects sent its shares (INCARSOB1.MX) down 16.10 percent to 11.27 pesos. The stripped down Grupo Carso (GCARSOA1.MX) dipped 0.82 percent to 34.16 pesos.

(Additional reporting by Lizbeth Salazar; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)