Shareholders approved the placing and open offer of new shares by Aminex at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday. The £8 million raised will be used to fund the development of oil reserves in Tatarstan and the expansion of its other operations in Russia. The placing, which was underwritten, raised £7.7 million. The remainder came from the open offer but 92 per cent of this was not taken up by the shareholders. The shareholders also approved two further resolutions. The first allows International Finance Corporation to subscribe for up to 1.6 million new shares at 85p a share, the same price as the placing. The second resolution approves the agreement with Zarubezhneft, an oil agency of the Federal Government of Russia and Animex's largest shareholder, to participate in the Kharyaga-Usinsk section of the projected Baltic pipeline system. Aminex will now have a net beneficial interest of 7.5 per cent in the 138 km pipeline and will receive tariff income.