The $20bn (€17bn) initial public offering of Rosneft, a Russian state-owned oil and gas company, could take place in Tokyo as well as London and Moscow, as part of a trend of European countries looking to tap Japanese investor appetite.

If Rosneft decided to carry out a Tokyo listing it would be the first time a Russian company listed in Japan. Stephen O'Sullivan, co-head of research at UFG, a Russian investment bank, said Japanese funds had shown increasing interest in Russian equity.