Russia's Rostelecom expects London listing in H1

MOSCOW Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled telecoms operator Rostelecom said on Friday it expects to proceed with a listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange in the first half of 2012.

"We are in the process of endorsing the company's prospectus and expect to obtain the listing in the first half of the year," spokesman Oleg Rumyantsev told Reuters.

The company had planned to list its shares in London before the end of 2011 to broaden its investor base but the listing was delayed because UK regulators needed additional information.

Rostelecom has also recently raised the prospect of selling some of its shares in a secondary public offering while maintaining the state's stake above the controlling level. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Greg Mahlich)