United Company RUSAL (UC RUSAL) will begin selling aluminum on the Shanghai Futures Exchange before the end of the year, company chief Oleg Deripaska said at a press conference on April 21.

"By year's end we will register our products on the Shanghai exchange," he said.

In addition, a host of long-term off-take contracts, modeled on agreements reached earlier with Norico, will be signed soon with major Russian consumers.

The Asian market will be RUSAL's main market in coming years, he said.

RUSAL sold 20 percent of its output to customers in China in 2009. That share is projected to rise to 30 percent this year.

"We are looking at Japan, China and South Korea, since we believe India's aluminum needs will be met in the Middle East," Deripaska said.

The company has set the goal of doubling its market capitalization. "Whether that doubling will be achieved in two and a half years or four years is difficult to say. But the potential for growth is clear," he said. He also added that numerous external factors could affect the company's performance, such as the future development of the financial market in the U.S.