Russian tycoon Vekselberg sets up Swiss board to manage assets

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who sold out of Anglo-Russian oil giant TNK-BP a year ago, is forming a new board for his Swiss-based investment vehicle made up of international executives to focus on global expansion, he said on Tuesday.

The new board for his Zurich-based company - Renova Management AG (RMAG) - will manage his international businesses, mainly Swiss industrial companies Oerlikon and Sulzer , and potentially other assets.

Vekselberg also owns nearly six percent of aluminum giant Rusal <0486.HK> as well as Russian assets ranging from construction to energy.

The board will be chaired by Vekselberg, who made his money in metals and energy and is now worth more than $15 billion according to Forbes. It will include Deutsche Bank supervisory board member Peter Loscher, as well as former Deutsche Bank CEO and Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell board member Josef Ackermann.

The move will allow RMAG to focus on the next phase of its development, involving further growth and international expansion, Vekselberg said in a statement.

"There are no immediate plans to enter new assets using RMAG as a managing company now, but its new board may provide some ideas soon giving its best expertise," said Renova's spokesman Andrey Shtorkh.

Loscher, a former chief executive of German engineering group Siemens , will also be offered an opportunity to invest in the assets managed by RMAG.

Vekselberg was part of the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium of four Soviet-born billionaires who sold out of TNK-BP last year to Russian oil giant Rosneft , reaping $27.7 billion between them and around $7 billion for Vekselberg himself.

He is also president of government-funded high-tech developer Skolkovo Foundation.

(Reporting by Megan Davies and Polina Devitt, editing by David Evans)