Russia 101111
Basic Political Developments
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Constructive relations with RF pay dividends to US - State Dpt - The creation of
more constructive relations with Russia has already begun to yield significant
dividends to the United States and Europe, US Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon said in London on Thursday.
G-20 Summit in Seoul
o Chinese, Russian presidents meet in Seoul on cooperation
o Extending Kyoto Protocol won't help tackle global warming - Russian
G20 delegate
o G20 Seoul summit to approve plan to help poor nations – source
o Russia calls for risk management system based on IMF
o Russia backs gradual removal of credit ratings from regulation instruments
o Russia against U.S. current account limits proposal
o RF concerned some states seeking weaker currency exchange rate
o Russia to voice concern over unilateral economic decisions at G20 source
o UPDATE 1-Russia frets global economy "unstable"-G20 source
o Russia Asks G-20 to Cut Investment Barriers to Offset Hot Money
o Economy and currency wars on G20 table - "Russia’s position is that we
need a more coordinated approach; we don’t want surprises from our
partners,” says Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich. “We want a
more intensive policy dialog between Central Banks, Finance Ministries.
This can lead to a greater stability on the markets."
o G20 countries should promote small businesses - Medvedev
o G20 should consider state purchase from small businesses – Medvedev
Medvedev to wind up visit to Seoul, to attend G20 Summit - During the final
event of the official visit, the authorities of the South Korean city of Incheon
(Chemulpo) will hand over the Varyag cruiser’ s flag to the Russian delegation.
o South Korea returns the Varyag`s flag to Russia
o Varyag cruiser flag transfer symbol of RF-SKorea good relations - “The
transfer of the jack from the Varyag cruiser is of special symbolic
importance for us, because it is the memory of the unprecedented feat of
navy men of the Varyag cruiser, on the one hand, and on the other – it is a
symbol of new very good relations that bind Russia and the Republic
Korea,” said Medvedev.
o SKorea HHI to build electrical eqt plant near Vladivostok - The South
Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Company will build a plant for
the manufacture of electrical engineering equipment near Vladivostok.
APEC not to take new protectionist measures until the end of 2013 - The
ministerial meeting of the leading Pacific Rim countries, including Russia,
declared Thursday in favour of avoiding fresh protectionist measures to uphold
their economies until the end of 2013, said a joint statement adopted by the
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Foreign and Economics ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum at the meeting that came to a close here earlier in the day.
Aust signs off on Russia nuclear deal - Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Russian
President Dimitry Medvedev have signed off on an agreement to resume uranium
sales to Russia.
o Australia Agrees To Supply Uranium To Russian Power Industry - "This
brings Australia's bilateral nuclear relationship with Russia into line with
the agreements we have in place with other countries, including the U.S.,
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea."
Cameron to visit Russia next year as sign of thaw -"I'm very pleased to take up
the invitation of a visit to Russia next year," Cameron told reporters after a
meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 summit in South
Korea.
Russia, UK's positions 'similar in many respects,' Medvedev says
Russian double agent 'helped crack' US spy ring
o Russia-U.S. spy scandal caused by intelligence officer betrayal newspaper
Putin Brings along New Moscow Mayor to Sofia - Bulgaria's cabinet approved a
decision to sign the South Stream project. Yesterday, Bulgaria's PM Borissov and
his Russian counterpart once again had a phone talk to specify details of PM
Putin's visit to Sofia on Saturday
Russian Cultural Days to be held in three major cities - Russian Cultural Days
will be held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from November 14-22,
announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Russian military base in Armenia part of southern military district - Specifically,
the Southern military district comprises the North Caucasian military districts,
Black Sea and Caspian fleets, as well as the military bases in Armenia, Abkhazia
and South Ossetia.
CIS Institutions of Higher Education sign Memorandum in Baku
Putin to visit children’s haematology, oncology, immunology centre - The
German company Transumed GmbH Medizintechnik started building the centre
in August 2008. The main purpose of Putin’s visit to the centre is to check the
status of the project ahead of its commissioning scheduled for June 1, 2011 -Child Protection Day.
Governors should not remain in office longer than three terms – Medvedev: The
governors of the Russian regions should not hold their positions for longer than
three terms, stated President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting with the staff of the
newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
o Medvedev says no plans to raise retirement age in Russia in near futurе “We have no plans to raise the retirement age in the years to come not
because there are no objective reasons for that, but because such decisions
require serious discussion and public consensus,” Medvedev said at a
meeting with Rossiiskaya Gazeta staff.
o Russia needs fewer universities - Medvedev: "Higher education has been
devalued. We have a huge number of higher educational establishments
some of which are worth nothing," Medvedev said at a meeting with
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employees of government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta on its 20th
anniversary.
Russian govt to consider draft education programme for 2011-2015
Sobyanin appoints Kalina as Moscow government minister - Moscow Mayor
Sergei Sobyanin appointed Isaak Kalina as a Moscow government minister and
the head of the Moscow education department, a source in the Moscow Mayor’s
Office said on Thursday.
Satellites to make e-govt available across Russia – Rostelecom: Two K-2
satellites will be used to bring Internet and e-government services to remote
Russian regions where laying fibre optic cables would be loss-making,
Rostelecom Voce President Andrei Nashchekin said.
Up to 100,000 domains can be registered in RF zone by yearend
Over 11 mln Muscovites take part in national population census - A total of 95
percent of Moscow’s population, or 11.7 million people, took part in the national
population census held on October 14-25, 2010.
Russia joins executive board of UN Women
ICJU head calls for journalist congress after attack on Russian reporter
Investigators to renew journalist attack case
‘Mandela Moment’ Awaits Russia in Yukos Trial: Julian Rimmer - The jury is
out, or at least it would be if there was one. Fascinated or appalled, Russia and the
world await the verdict in the latest trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former
owner of Yukos Oil Co. His fate now lies in the hands of Judge Viktor Danilkin.
Russia’s legal mire - All that makes the lack of progress on legal reforms – in
spite of the pledges of both Mr Medvedev and, earlier, Mr Putin (who promised a
“dictatorship of laws”) – perplexing. The likely conviction of former Yukos chief
Mikhail Khodorkovsky next month on new embezzlement charges, described
even by former senior officials as absurd, is proof of that. Yet the rule of law is
not an abstract value. Until Russians – not just journalists but all citizens – start
feeling a bit safer, investors will never feel entirely safe either.
Blood money rejected in 'golden gun' assassination - The family of the murdered
Chechen warlord Sulim Yamadayev will not seek blood money or take any legal
action against the two men convicted of involvement in the assassination, a court
was told yesterday.
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, November 11, 2010
o This summer's Russian-U.S. spy scandal was the result of betrayal by a
Russian intelligence officer. Investigative reporting.(Kommersant)
o President Dmitry Medvedev will hold an Internet conference with
Russians.(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
o Right Cause, which styles itself as a liberal opposition party, has become
the first party to officially support President Dmitry Medvedev's
candidacy for a second term in 2012. Party co-founder Georgy Bovt said
Wednesday that the decision reflects the country's political
reality.(Moscow Times)
o The Republican Party that won last week's midterm elections to the U.S.
Congress will block any initiatives from President Barack Obama. This
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could not only freeze the healthcare reform but also fold Obama's policy
of "resetting" relations with Russia.(Kommersant)
Russian phone retailer Euroset is preparing for an IPO in London, three
investment bankers and one company manager said. The IPO could be
held at the London Stock Exchange in 2011 and involve some 30% of the
company's stock. The final decision will be made by November
20.(Vedomosti)
British lighting equipment producer Abacus has announced plans to build
a plant in St. Petersburg next year. Abacus is "looking at how we can
support the Winter Olympics in Sochi," said Andrew Morris Richardson,
chairman of the board of Abacus Russia and a board member of British
Abacus.(Moscow Times)
English could become the only language for communication between
traffic controllers and pilots for non-military Russian flights, said
Alexander Neradko, head of the Federal Air Transportation Agency.
Currently, both Russian and English are used for radio communication at
the country's international airports, while the rest only use
Russian.(Moscow Times)
Russia hopes to join the World Trade Organization next year, presidential
aide Arkady Dvorkovich said.(Vedomosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta,
Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The European Union plans to spend €1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) on
diversification of energy supplies by 2020. The EU's energy strategy could
strip Russia of part of its sales market but experts say the EU has little
chance of implementing it.(Vedomosti)
City Hall's website crashed Wednesday after Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
published his long-awaited plan to fight Moscow's notorious traffic jams.
The plan in particular proposes barring trucks from the city during
daylight hours. Experts say this will only result in shortages of goods and
price hikes.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti)
The Investigative Committee's top department was assigned on
Wednesday to handle the case of the attack on Kommersant reporter Oleg
Kashin, who remains in a drug-induced coma, as suspects singled out by
the media denied involvement.(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Moscow Times,
Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned parents from paying
for efforts to repair and equip schools because there is a special federal
target program to deal with the issue.(Kommersant)
Bulgaria's Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposed joint venture with
Russian energy giant Gazprom to run the Bulgarian section of the planned
South Stream pipeline that will run across the Black Sea. The agreement
envisions a 50-50 partnership between Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy
Holding and is to be signed during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to
Sofia on Saturday.(Vremya Novostei, Moscow Times)
Gazprom's sales to South Korea should pull even with supplies to major
European buyers like France by 2017 as the Russian gas export monopoly
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turns its attention toward burgeoning Asian markets, Gazprom chief
Alexei Miller said Wednesday.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei)
o Registration of ordinary users in the Cyrillic Internet domain (.рф) will
start at midday Thursday.(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Third man suspected of role in Krasnodar mass murder detained – source
Spy Sandal Version 2.0 - For Countries of Georgia’s Size with Enemies the Size
of Russia, Soft Power Swipes Like a Well-Timed Spy Bust Are a Useful Weapon
EU to have another stab at forming untied energy front - …despite many tough
words, Russia has picked off targets at its leisure, with several individual EU
members signed up to help build more infrastructure linking Europe to Russian
energy suppliers, despite the bloc having an official strategy to reduce its
dependence on Moscow.
Winner takes all? - For now, Moscow is trying to gain the upper hand by fasttracking construction of the Kaliningrad facility, the Baltic Nuclear Power Plant.
..The facility will probably become another carrot that Moscow can dangle before
Minsk as the two countries quarrel over everything from oil prices to a customs
union.
National Economic Trends
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Euroclear Link May Generate Ruble Demand ‘Wave,’ Citigroup Says
Russia to cut budget deficit to 2.9 pct of GDP in 2013
Merill Lynch subsidiary to organize sale of VTB's shares
Trade Surplus Widens
September Trade Balance: a Short Respite, Yet No Clue to RUB
Weekly CPI accelerates to 0.2% w/w in November
Duma committee approves oil and gas tax hikes
Ministry of Finance proposes consumer finance draft law
New law on express loans to be less profitable for banks, more secure for
consumers
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
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Kuzbassrazrezugol, Polyus Gold, Rosneft: Russian Equity Preview
MICEX share-trading opens on upswing as oil prices rise
UPDATE 1-Russia's Transneft shares soar on MSCI Russia entry
Russia's FSK says half year net profit up 60 percent
EuroSibEnergo to raise $1.5 bln in Asian IPO
EuroSibEnergo to IPO in bid to fund Norilsk war?
Evroset mobile phone retailer may sell 30 pct of shares in IPO on LSE in 2011
Russian Technologies Corporation Eyes State's Stake in Apatit
RUSNANO and Plastic Logic Announce Agreement to Establish New Plastic
Electronics Production in Russia
ABC opening Moscow office in major push
Russia enters Formula 1 as company takes ‘significant stake’ in Virgin team
Russian carmaker to take over F1 team
Fiat's Magneti Marelli expands in Russia
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VTB Capital takes ECM title from Renaissance Capital
RusAl is in talks with investors on a joint bid for Vladimir Potanin’s stake in
Norilsk Nickel, RIA-Novosti reported Wednesday, citing a source familiar with
RusAl’s plans. (Bloomberg)
Magneti Marelli, the auto-parts division of Fiat, aims to expand in Russia where it
wants to become “a leading player,” chief Eugenio Razelli said Wednesday,
during the opening of a lighting plant in Ryazan. (Bloomberg)
Yekaterinburg-based Urals Nickel, owned by Dmitry Baskov, plans to hold an
initial public offering and list its shares on MICEX, the company said
Wednesday. (Bloomberg)
Raspadskaya will resume output at its main mine by the end of the year, chief
Gennady Kozovoi said Wednesday, according to the Kemerovo regional
administration. (Bloomberg)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sojitz and China National Chemical plan to build a
$1.06 billion chemical plant in Russia, Nikkei English News said Wednesday.
(Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
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Gazprom
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Basic Political Developments
Constructive relations with RF pay dividends to US - State Dpt
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15670318
11.11.2010, 11.06
WASHINGTON, November 11 (Itar-Tass) - The creation of more constructive relations
with Russia has already begun to yield significant dividends to the United States and
Europe, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H.
Gordon said in London on Thursday.
The United States for its part has made important progress in bilateral relations in terms
of pragmatic cooperation, he said speaking at the Royal Institute of International Affairs
(Chatham House). The text of his remarks was released by the US State Department in
Washington.
He said, in particular, that “we have sought with our European allies to build a more
constructive relationship with Russia – a common goal that has started to pay significant
dividends for both Europe and the United States. For our part, the United States has made
important progress in setting our bilateral relationship on a path of pragmatic
cooperation. Most significantly, we have concluded a New START Treaty. The
agreement is the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades and
significantly reduces the number of nuclear weapons and launchers deployed by the
United States and Russia while also putting in place a strong verification regime.”
According to him, “This is an achievement that has made Europe and the world safer. We
have also achieved important cooperation with Russia in advancing our common goals in
Afghanistan and in addressing the Iranian nuclear program. And we have done all of this
without compromising our principles – in particular our steadfast commitments to human
rights and to the defence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all of the nations of
Europe.”
G-20 Summit in Seoul
Chinese, Russian presidents meet in Seoul on cooperation
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-11/11/c_13602308.htm
2010-11-11 16:49:45
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev met here Thursday to discuss the development of the China-Russia
strategic partnership of coordination.
The two presidents are also expected to exchange views on major world and regional
issues of common concern.
They met on the sidelines of the fifth Group of 20 (G20) summit slated for Thursday and
Friday.
11/11 11:28 Extending Kyoto Protocol won't help tackle global warming - Russian
G20 delegate
http://www.interfax.com/
11/11 11:34 G20 Seoul summit to approve plan to help poor nations – source
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=201110
Russia calls for risk management system based on IMF
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20101111112507.shtml
RBC, 11.11.2010, Seoul 11:25:07.Russia has proposed the creation of a risk
management system on the basis of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in which
governments or market participants may act as insurers. The announcement was made
in documents prepared by the Russian delegation for the G20 summit in Seoul.
According to Russian negotiators, the system could serve as an alternative to South
Korea's proposed financial security network aimed at ensuring immediate access to
financial resources in case of a crisis or potential impending crisis. Specifically, Seoul
has proposed schemes for opening credit lines to countries without posing
requirements for economic policy.
"In general, we support South Korea's initiative, but believe that we must come up
with alternatives to the global financial security network. We can return to the idea of
"a last resort creditor," whose functions the IMF does not yet perform. Another option
is to create a system for risk management on the basis of the IMF," the Russian
delegation's documents read. Apart from that, Russia suggests using regional credit
mechanisms more widely, including reserve and anti-crisis funds.
Russia backs gradual removal of credit ratings from regulation instruments
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161288912.html
12:25 11/11/2010
SEOUL, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia supports the gradually exclusion of credit
ratings from financial and economic regulation and believes that their use should be
balanced with other economic analysis tools, a source in the Russian G20 Group
delegation in Seoul said on Thursday.
In particular, credit ratings could be replaced by other assessment mechanisms in many
areas of financial regulation, the source said.
However, Russia understands that a large-scale effort to restrict the use of ratings could
create some problems and cause investors' distrust for ratings and rating agencies and
hinder investment decisions.
Moreover, the introduction of alternative assessment mechanisms will require time in
some areas and therefore credit rating actions cannot be replaced in the near future, the
source said.
Russia favors a system of state control over rating agencies and their enhanced
responsibility for the quality of their rating actions through regulative norms, the source
said.
Russia against U.S. current account limits proposal
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161288826.html
12:17 11/11/2010
Russia will not support a U.S. initiative to limit current account balances to four percent
of gross domestic product (GDP), a Russian delegation source at the G20 summit said on
Thursday.
"As part of our work to reduce global imbalances, Russia does not support the U.S.
proposal to impose curbs of four percent of GDP on current account deficits or surpluses
in a short or medium term," he said.
Last month the U.S. put forward the idea of current account limits as a method of
measuring when imbalances can cause problems in the global trading system and become
unsustainable.
The proposal was supported by most G20 countries, but was strongly opposed by
emerging market states.
"We need a more flexible approach than that proposed by the U.S., as there are countries
where surplus is an equilibrium phenomenon and is caused by, for example, a
demographic structure or a high share of natural resources exports. The IMF should to
take into account features and economic conditions of each country, when developing
specific recommendations," the source said.
SEOUL, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
RF concerned some states seeking weaker currency exchange rate
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15670230&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 10.48
SEOUL, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia is concerned over some countries seeking to
weaken their currency exchange rates in order to boost their economies without
coordination with other partners, a source in the Russian delegation at the G20 summit
told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
“We are particularly concerned over the attempts of some countries to take unilateral
decisions to weaken their currency exchange rates in order to boost their economic
growth without coordination with other partners. We believe that such steps make the
participants in the market more nervous and the exchange rates of the leading currencies
more volatile inciting fears about the launch of ‘the currency wars’ on the international
scene,” the source noted.
Russia to voice concern over unilateral economic decisions at G20 - source
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161288348.html
11:49 11/11/2010
Russia will voice its concern over some countries' decisions to weaken their currencies
without consultations with partners as it makes markets jittery and raises fears of the start
of currency wars, a source in the Russian delegation to the G20 summit said on Thursday.
"We are not only talking of direct interventions on the foreign exchange market, but also
of indirect exchange rate weakening through pumping liquidity into the economy. The
creation of excessive liquidity by leading developed countries is also a serious problem
for emerging states as this generates a considerable speculative capital inflow to their
markets," he said.
Earlier in November, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said that Russia wanted G20
states to coordinate their important financial decisions with other group participants
following the U.S. Federal Reserve System's decision to increase monetary supply by
30%, which many analysts say will cause speculative bubbles on global markets.
The source said that the Russian delegation believes that supporting stability of the main
reserve currencies, effective management of public finances, and a stable monetary
policy in developed countries were an indispensable condition for further growth.
"This is why coordinated measures taken under the auspice of the IMF and other
international organizations are a necessary condition for stable, sustainable and balanced
economic growth and the achievement of a mutually profitable development of the global
economy," he said.
"The utmost attention should be paid to structural changes in the economies of developed
and emerging states."
He also said that global economy was in a "vicious circle, where governments of leading
developed countries are obliged to allocate considerable resources to save banking
institutes, which result in poorer budget indices and the necessity to cut other state
expenses."
An aging population in the developed countries also puts severe strain on state debt and
budget deficits, he said.
SEOUL, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
UPDATE 1-Russia frets global economy "unstable"-G20 source
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINTOE6AA07K20101111
12:37pm IST
SEOUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Russia is concerned that the global economy is "unstable and
unbalanced" and some countries are weakening their currencies to stimulate growth, a
source with the country's delegation to the G20 Summit said on Thursday.
"We are especially worried by attempts by a number of countries to take unilateral
decisions to weaken their currencies in order to stimulate growth without agreement with
other partners," the source said.
"We believe that such steps lead to nervousness among market players and volatility of
main currencies, prompting fears of global 'currency wars'."
World leaders gathered in Seoul for a two-day summit hoping to move beyond broad
promises of economic cooperation, but days of rancorous debate appear to have undone
much of the G20 unity forged in the throes of a global crisis two years ago.
U.S.President Barack Obama has urged his peers to put aside differences and follow
through on previous agreements to even out imbalances between cash-rich exporting
nations and debt-burdened importers.
But an idea floated by the United States earlier for numerical targets to be set for trade
imbalances appears to have been taken off the table after drawing little support.
"Russia does not support the U.S. proposal to introduce limits on the current account's
deficit or surplus of 4 percent of GDP in the short or medium term," the Russia source
said.
"There is risk that lack of clear, solid and all-encompassing plans of fiscal consolidation
by the countries issuing reserve currencies can contribute to uncertainty and weaken
confidence in financial markets." (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Alex
Richardson)
Russia Asks G-20 to Cut Investment Barriers to Offset Hot Money
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ahIkAliC3CLM
By Paul Abelsky
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Russia will urge Group of 20 policy makers to remove barriers to
long-term investment in developed countries to help emerging economies counter capital
inflows as the U.S. pumps $600 billion into its economy.
The proposal would offset the money flooding into emerging markets by creating an
“oncoming flow” of capital to industrialized nations, said Arkady Dvorkovich, senior
economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev, at a Moscow briefing before the G-20
summit, which begins today in Seoul.
“Large-scale, cross-border investments can serve exactly to stabilize the situation,”
Dvorkovich said. “They will, in effect, replace investments into sovereign securities of
the developed countries and help regulate the imbalances that appear as a result of high
deficits and surpluses.”
Russia is trying to forge an alternative to devaluations and capital controls by developing
nations seeking to prevent hot money from creating asset bubbles, said Yaroslav
Lissovolik, chief economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Moscow. Interest rates close to zero
in advanced economies have spurred demand for higher-yielding assets in countries from
Brazil to Thailand.
The U.S. Federal Reserve fueled concern in emerging economies last week when it
announced plans to buy $600 billion of long-term government bonds to reduce borrowing
costs and spur growth in a second round of so-called quantitative easing.
‘Protectionist Barriers’
China took steps this week to stem inflows that threaten to drive up stock and property
prices. South Korea may revive a 14 percent tax on domestic treasury and central bank
bonds held by foreigners to curb foreign-exchange volatility, a ruling party lawmaker
said yesterday.
“From the point of view of coping with the problem of global imbalances, too much
emphasis has been placed on currency rates,” Lissovolik said. “Structural measures,
including those aimed at lowering protectionist barriers, are more appropriate in helping
find a lasting solution.”
Capital flows into emerging markets are running at $575 billion a year, 20 percent higher
than before the world financial crisis, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in September.
Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in the U.S. shrank to 0.9 percent of gross domestic
product in 2009 from 2.3 percent a year earlier, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That
compares with 3 percent in Russia and 2.6 percent in India.
Gazprom, Cnooc
The U.K. government warned in 2006 that any bid from OAO Gazprom, Russia’s gas
export monopoly, for Centrica Plc, Britain’s biggest energy supplier, would face rigorous
tests about its affect on energy security. Cnooc Ltd., the Hong Kong- listed unit of
China’s largest offshore oil and gas explorer, abandoned an $18.5 billion bid for El
Segundo, California-based Unocal Corp. in 2005 because of opposition from U.S.
lawmakers.
Canada last week blocked Melbourne-based BHP Billiton Ltd.’s $40 billion hostile bid
for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., saying it didn’t provide a “net benefit” to the
country.
The G-20 has to counter “trade protectionism,” according to a statement issued yesterday
by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s office after he met with Medvedev. G-20
leaders pledged to resist protectionism in June when they met in Canada.
The Russian proposal fails to address global imbalances that result from insufficient
demand in emerging markets, said Neil Shearing, a senior emerging-market analyst at
Capital Economics in London.
“Inflows of FDI would tend to increase the supply potential of the developed world rather
than boost demand” in emerging economies, he said. “There is already an overhang of
supply in the West. Why the need for further investment?”
Russian Barriers
While Russia is campaigning to open markets in North America and western Europe, it
has the most protectionist trade policies in the G-20, according to a June 20 report
compiled by the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics and
released by the International Chamber of Commerce.
The U.S. was second, followed by India, Argentina, Brazil and China. Countries took
steps to shield industries from international competition as job losses rose and the
European sovereign-debt crisis damped growth, according to the report.
Russia has imposed tariffs on imported cars and limited poultry imports from the U.S. by
reducing permissible chlorine levels. Wood-export duties opposed by paper companies
such as Helsinki-based Stora Enso Oyj are the main remaining “sticking point” in
Russia’s talks to join the World Trade Organization, European Trade Commissioner
Karel De Gucht said Nov. 9.
While Russian officials have said they aren’t considering capital controls and won’t seek
to weaken the ruble, they sided with other BRIC countries last month in opposing U.S.
efforts to weaken mechanisms to control currency fluctuations.
The Russian government is trying to “score political points” with its emerging-market
peers in a G-20 dominated by the U.S., China, Japan and the EU, said Fyodor Lukyanov,
editor of the Moscow-based journal Russia in Global Affairs.
“Russia is trying to find a niche in which it’s useful for someone,” Lukyanov said. “It’s
looking to strike a balance between the interests of different member countries.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in Moscow at
[email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Willy Morris at [email protected].
Last Updated: November 11, 2010 01:25 EST
Economy and currency wars on G20 table
http://russiatoday.com/news/g20-economy-currency-war/
Published: 11 November, 2010, 10:04
G20 leaders are gathering in South Korea, and the one thing on their minds is money.
Those ruling the world's major economies are confronted with preventing a recurrence of
the financial nightmare of 2008.
The summit kicked off with a business forum and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
urged the G20 to create a favorable environment for medium and small businesses, which
he believes would help global recovery.
Medvedev has already had a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister David
Cameron, both saying they see eye-to-eye on many of the top priorities of the G20.
Dmitry Medvedev will also be holding talks with China’s President Hu Jintao which are
expected to focus on US financial policy, which right now the world is less than happy
with.
For the South Korean capital, Seoul, the gathering underlines its economic awakening.
But there are major spats to iron out – as countries circle their financial wagons, while
others try to call the shots.
This year’s G20 is being billed as a financial coming-out event for South Korea – proof
of just how far the country has come in the nearly 60 years since the end of the Korean
War.
Once poorer than its northern neighbor, South Korea now boasts the 13th largest
economy in the world. North Korea may lie just four kilometers beyond the
FreedomBridge and Demilitarized Zone, but economically the two are worlds apart.
The threat from the Democratic People’s Republic looms particularly large, and Seoul
isn’t taking any chances: security forces are on high alert.
But there is another conflict on the G20 leaders’ minds – the outbreak of the so-called
Currency War.
The US leads the charge, accusing China of cheating world trade by artificially
weakening its currency. It wants the yuan to be bolstered.
"The United States is going to China and saying: we want you to commit economic
suicide, just like Japan did. We want you to follow the same thing: we want you to
revalue your currency, we want you to squeeze your companies, we want you to go
bankrupt,” says Michael Hudson, Financial Times contributor. “Well, you can imagine
what the Chinese are saying. They’re laughing! They’re thinking, are you guys joking?”
And yet Washington stands accused of allowing its own dollar to dwindle, roiling
emerging markets whose own currencies are rising strongly and damaging their export
competitiveness.
Complaints intensified after the Federal Reserve announced a second print-run of $US
600 billion – the “quantitative easing” designed to get cash flowing. However, other
economies worry it will flood their markets.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wants the summit to agree that when countries like
the US take big steps to save themselves, they should consider the ripples it causes and
get permission from the G20 first.
"Russia’s position is that we need a more coordinated approach; we don’t want surprises
from our partners,” says Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich. “We want a
more intensive policy dialog between Central Banks, Finance Ministries. This can lead to
a greater stability on the markets."
Among other leading critics is Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy, with its
Finance Minister calling the US “helpless”.
Monument Securities chief economist Stephen Lewis said, “I don’t think the US is
making its case any stronger through the measures that it’s taking, through printing
dollars to weaken its own currency, because that looks far too much like a competitive
devaluation… I think the European countries see it as a dangerous move because what it
could do is increase the capital controls around the world.”
That is not what Barack Obama wants to hear. The US President’s call for Germany –
along with China and Japan – to rely less on their dominant export markets and spend
more at home is falling on deaf ears.
The truth is that no one is happy with today’s international monetary system, especially
the dominance of the dollar as a reserve currency and America’s management of it.
And what business leaders want the G20 to realize, is that each nation will have to fight
their natural urge to try and protect their trade, and also the need to boost foreign
investment.
G20 countries should promote small businesses - Medvedev
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161285675.html
07:18 11/11/2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday urged the governments of the G20
countries to promote small businesses.
"Today it is necessary not to try to restore the previous conditions for operation of small
and midsized enterprises, but to form a more favorable environment for them,"
Medvedev said at a business summit in Seoul.
The business summit is held ahead of the meeting of G20 leaders, due Thursday evening
in the South Korean capital.
"One of the key tasks today is to ensure unhindered access to national and international
capital markets for small and midsized businesses," the Russian leader said.
He also said Russia will develop microfinance, or the practice of providing small loans to
individual borrowers lacking access to credit, as an efficient anti-crisis measure.
"Microfinance has become an important element of Russia's financial system," Medvedev
said.
SEOUL, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
G20 should consider state purchase from small businesses – Medvedev
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669896&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 08.53
SEOUL, November 11 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged the
Group of Twenty countries to consider a more active use of government procurement
mechanism with the involvement of small businesses.
“Another issue is the importance of state orders placed not only with large companies,
but also small ones,” he said at a round table discussion of the forum “The role of
business in ensuring sustainable and balanced demand.” “It is not always easy for the
government to make arrangements with small businesses on supplies, because, as a rule,
the supply volumes are small,” the president admitted. “But the states should pay
attention to these possible purchases,” he added.
Medvedev said another important aspect of the work is stimulating banks to work more
actively with small businesses. “We in Russia have passed this,” he said noting that
several special programmes have been developed in this sphere. “It is clear that without
additional incentives it is often impossible to turn them to more active cooperation with
small businesses,” said Medvedev.
Medvedev to wind up visit to Seoul, to attend G20 Summit
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669445&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 01.31
SEOUL, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will wind up
the official visit to the Republic of Korea on Thursday and attend the G20 Summit on
November 11-12.
During the final event of the official visit, the authorities of the South Korean city of
Incheon (Chemulpo) will hand over the Varyag cruiser’ s flag to the Russian delegation.
Along with another 13 objects from the cruiser, the flag was seized by the Japanese after
the Battle of Chemulpo, but ended up in South Korea after Japan’s defeat in Worlds War
II.
Under Korean laws, objects of cultural heritage cannot be handed over to other countries.
So the flag from the Varyag will be returned to Russia for permanent storage on
condition that it should be put up on display in South Korea from time to time.
South Korea returns the Varyag`s flag to Russia
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/11/11/33236872.html
Nov 11, 2010 09:29 Moscow Time
South Korea has handed over the flag of the legendary Varyag cruiser to Russia during a
ceremony at the Russian embassy in Seoul on Thursday morning.
The ceremony was attended by the Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev, who described the
event as ‘historical’ and marking a fresh start in bilateral relations.
The flag has been kept in the South Korean town of Incheon for over 100 years. It was
near that sea port that the Russian cruiser entered a battle with a squadron of Japanese
ships in 1904.
Varyag cruiser flag transfer symbol of RF-SKorea good relations
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15670120&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 10.03
SEOUL, November 11 (Itar-Tass) - The ceremony of handover to the Russian side of the
jack-flag (naval ensign) of the legendary cruiser Varyag (Varangian) was held in the RF
embassy in Seoul in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The authorities
of the South Korean city of Incheon handed over the flag to the Russian side.
The Russian head of state said that it is a significant event both in Russian history and
history of Russian-Korean relations.
“The transfer of the jack from the Varyag cruiser is of special symbolic importance for
us, because it is the memory of the unprecedented feat of navy men of the Varyag cruiser,
on the one hand, and on the other – it is a symbol of new very good relations that bind
Russia and the Republic Korea,” said Medvedev.
He expressed gratitude to the Mayor of Incheon for the decision, noting that the fact that
it happens during the visit of the Russian president makes the transfer of the flag
especially symbolic.
“Accepting today the jack from the Varyag cruiser we pay tribute to the heroism of our
sailors and, on the other hand, try to show that there is a place of heroism in every life,
and we hope that the appropriate deposit, which will be with us, will allow young
generations of Russians to also be oriented towards what has been done by their ancestors
many years ago,” Medvedev said.
SKorea HHI to build electrical eqt plant near Vladivostok
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669769&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 08.13
VLADIVOSTOK, November 11 (Itar-Tass) - The South Korean Hyundai Heavy
Industries (HHI) Company will build a plant for the manufacture of electrical engineering
equipment near Vladivostok.
A document to this effect has been signed in Seoul by Sergei Darkin, Governor of the
Primorsky (maritime) Territory (PT), Oleg Budargin, Chairman of the Board of the OAO
FSK UES Federal power network company, and HHI CEO Keo Sik-ming, an official at
the press center of the PT administration told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
Eighteen months are assigned for the implementation of the project. The plant will be
turning out factory-assembled switch gear of the 500-kilovolt class at the first stage and
transformers subsequently. The HHI will act as the main investor.
APEC not to take new protectionist measures until the end of 2013
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669895&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 09.12
YOKOHAMA, November 11 (Itar-Tass) - The ministerial meeting of the leading Pacific
Rim countries, including Russia, declared Thursday in favour of avoiding fresh
protectionist measures to uphold their economies until the end of 2013, said a joint
statement adopted by the Foreign and Economics ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum at the meeting that came to a close here earlier in the day.
The statement said the Ministers had agreed to recommend the leaders of Pacific Rim
countries to extend until the end of 2013 the suspension of measures aimed at putting
new barriers in the cause of investments and trade in goods and services, as well as at
imposing new export restrictions or taking other measures incompatible with the rules of
the World Trade Organization, in all fields, including the stimulation of export.
The Ministers also declared in favour of pushing ahead with measures aimed at
establishing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. APEC comprises 21 Pacific Rim
countries and territories, among them Russia, the United States, China, Japan, Australia,
Mexico, and Southeast Asian nations.
Aust signs off on Russia nuclear deal
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8126571/aust-signs-off-on-russia-nuclear-deal
18:26 AEST Thu Nov 11 2010
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev have signed off on an
agreement to resume uranium sales to Russia.
Ms Gillard and Mr Medvedev met on the sidelines of the G20 leaders meeting in Seoul
on Thursday and exchanged an agreement on co-operation in the use of nuclear energy
for peaceful purposes.
The deal will mean Australian miners will be able to supply uranium to Russia for use in
the civil nuclear power industry.
It updates a 1990 deal that enabled Australia to sell uranium to be processed in Russia on
behalf of third countries.
NOVEMBER 11, 2010, 3:16 A.M. ET
Australia Agrees To Supply Uranium To Russian Power Industry
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101111-704362.html
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Thursday the
country has entered an agreement to supply uranium to Russia's power industry.
Gillard and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev witnessed the official agreement in
Seoul, where they are attending the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations
summit.
"The agreement allows for the supply of Australian uranium to Russia for use in its civil
nuclear power industry, updating the existing nuclear agreement between our countries.
That agreement, concluded in 1990, permitted Australian uranium to be processed in
Russia on behalf of third countries but did not allow it to be used for power generation
within Russia," Gillard said in a statement.
"This brings Australia's bilateral nuclear relationship with Russia into line with the
agreements we have in place with other countries, including the U.S., China, Japan and
the Republic of Korea."
-By Graham Morgan, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4682;
[email protected]
Cameron to visit Russia next year as sign of thaw
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/89540/
Today at 08:46 | Reuters
SEOUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday he
would visit Russia next year, signalling an improvement in ties after a freeze caused by
the murder of a Kremlin critic in London in 2006.
"I'm very pleased to take up the invitation of a visit to Russia next year," Cameron told
reporters after a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 summit in
South Korea.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries fell to a post-Cold War low after Moscow
refused to extradite the man Britain wants to put on trial for the 2006 murder of former
Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko using the highly toxic polonium-210 isotope.
The killing was not mentioned by Medvedev and Cameron who said they focused on
G20, North Korea, Iran, the upcoming NATO summit and economic cooperation.
"It has been a very positive meeting. I think we will have many more like this as we see a
strengthening of the British-Russian relationship which I am keen to see," Cameron said
in a statement.
Cameron took office in May at the head of a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition
government. His Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Moscow last month as part of
efforts to rebuild relations and met Medvedev.
"We have recently managed to advance on a number of issues, cooperating very closely,"
Medvedev said.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/89540/#ixzz14xQKgYV3
Russia, UK's positions 'similar in many respects,' Medvedev says
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20101111105105.shtml
RBC, 11.11.2010, Seoul 10:51:05.Russia and the UK are "ready for cooperation,
and our positions are similar in many respects," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
stated today after a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron. The Russian
leader indicated that the two countries had been actively and efficiently cooperating
on all unresolved issues, and Moscow and London had made significant progress in
bilateral relations in 2010. "We agreed to continue shifting towards the expansion of
high-level contacts," Medvedev said. He also noted, "Russian companies are happy to
float shares on the London Stock Exchange, and this trend should certainly be
encouraged."
According to Medvedev, he and Cameron discussed international security,
specifically Iran's nuclear program, and agreed to "coordinate efforts." The president
also announced that he invited Cameron to visit Russia in 2011. The British PM, in
turn, expressed hope that he would able to make the trip.
Russian double agent 'helped crack' US spy ring
http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/327370/russian_double_agent__%27helped_c
rack%27_us_spy_ring/
A Russian spy ring broken by the United States this summer was detected with the help
of a Russian intelligence agent whose daughter lives in the United States, the
Kommersant daily reported Thursday.
The respected business daily identified the Russian accomplice as Shcherbakov, a colonel
with the Russian foreign intelligence service.
It said Shcherbakov fled Russia for the United States three days prior to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev's June visit to Washington.
The paper cited sources as saying that Shcherbakov's son also quit his post with the
Russian drug control agency and fled to the United States shortly before Washington
revealed the spy ring that month.
His daughter has long lived in the United States, the paper said, without providing further
details.
"It seems odd that no one bothered to check why a person of that rank has a daughter
living in the United States," Kommersant quoted an unnamed intelligence source as
saying.
Shcherbakov himself turned down an important promotion last year, suggesting that he
had already been working with Washington, the paper said.
The group of 10 spies, many of whom had been working for years undercover in the
United States as sleeper agents, returned to Russia in a July spy swap that saw Moscow
send four Russian convicts to the West.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who served as a Soviet foreign intelligence agent in East
Germany, this summer denounced the then-unnamed Russian collaborator as someone
whose life will end "with boozing or drugs," Kommersant said.
The Russian foreign intelligence agency was not immediately available for comment.
Russia-U.S. spy scandal caused by intelligence officer betrayal - newspaper
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161286321.html
This past summer's spy row between Russia and the United States was the result of a
betrayal by a Russian intelligence officer, a leading business daily reported on Thursday.
The scandal broke out in late June when 10 people were arrested in the United States.
The spies were freed in a swap deal between Russia and the U.S.
Kommersant journalists carried out an investigation and discovered that a certain Col.
Shcherbakov, who had long worked for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), was
to blame for the exposure of Russians who were working under cover.
The newspaper reported that Shcherbakov's daughter has long been living in the United
States but that the SVR was not too concerned about this.
"It's strange that no one questioned why a person on that level has relatives abroad," an
intelligence source told Kommersant. "Such things are strictly monitored even in less
secret organizations."
The intelligence service failed to take notice when Shcherbakov refused to accept a
career promotion a year before the spy scandal - a procedure that would require him to
undergo a lie detector test. This could mean that he actively cooperated with U.S. secret
services at the time.
Finally, no one paid attention to the fact that Shcherbakov's son, who had worked for
Russia's drug watchdog Gosnarkokontrol, hastily left Russia for the United States shortly
before the Russian agents were exposed.
The traitor himself, said a Kommersant source in Russian state power bodies, fled the
country three days prior to President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the United States in
June.
The reset of Russian-U.S. relations was threatened following the espionage scandal.
However, the two countries pledged the espionage row would not affect bilateral ties.
Kommersant quoted a high-level Kremlin administration official as saying that
Shcherbakov's fate "cannot be envied."
"He will carry this with him all his life and will fear retribution every day," the paper
quoted him as saying.
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
Putin Brings along New Moscow Mayor to Sofia
http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2010-11-11&article=34667
Bulgaria’s government greenlighted the South Stream after a phone talk
between Putin and Borissov
THURSDAY, 11 November 2010
Bulgaria's cabinet approved a decision to sign the South Stream project. Yesterday,
Bulgaria's PM Borissov and his Russian counterpart once again had a phone talk to
specify details of PM Putin's visit to Sofia on Saturday
During his visit to Sofia, Russian PM Vladimir Putin will be heading a delegation of
forty politicians and businessmen, including new Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin,
the Standart has learnt. The names of Putin’s delegates have not been officially
announced, yet, and there may be some last-minute surprises. Saturday’s working visit of
the Russian Prime Minister to Sofia is expected to last only a few hours. Borissov and
Putin will discuss the realization of the joint energy projects.
Yesterday, Bulgaria’s and Russia’s PMs once again had a phone talk to specify the
details of the forthcoming working visit of PM Putin to Sofia and the implementation of
the South Stream project and Belene NPP.
Earlier in the day, Bulgaria’s cabinet gave green light to the realization of the Bulgarian
sector of the gas pipeline. Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers issued a permission for the
establishment of a joint company between Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and
Gazprom. The joint company will work on the implementation of the South Stream
project. The company will be registered in Bulgaria as its capital will be equally divided
between Gazprom and BEH.
Kristian Kosturkov
Updated : 10:55 AM, 11/11/2010
Russian Cultural Days to be held in three major cities
http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/Russian-Cultural-Days-to-be-held-in-three-majorcities/201011/121300.vov
Russian Cultural Days will be held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from
November 14-22, announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The event’s opening ceremony will take place at Hanoi Opera House on November 15.
This is the second time Cultural Days are organised in Vietnam, with the aim of
strengthening Vietnamese-Russian traditional cultural cooperative exchanges, and carry
out the agreement between Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and
Russia’s Ministry of Culture.
It is expected to attract 75 Russian artists of three arts troupes. Also, under the framework
of Russian Cultural Days in Vietnam, there will be Russian film week in the National
Cinema Centre in Hanoi, Thang Long Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City and Le Do Cinema in
Da Nang. An exchange between Russia’s famous artists and teachers and students in
HCM City Conservatoire will take place.
Besides, an exhibition on Moscow will open on 29 Hang Bai street, bringing Vietnamese
people and international friends to see more about unforgettable historical days 65 years
ago.
Russian military base in Armenia part of southern military district
http://news.am/eng/news/37744.html
November 11, 2010 | 08:06
Russian Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov announced successful completion of
reforms of Russia’s military administrative division.
RF President Dmitry Medvedev signed a relevant decree. Four military districts have
been formed instead of the previous six districts.
Specifically, the Southern military district comprises the North Caucasian military
districts, Black Sea and Caspian fleets, as well as the military bases in Armenia,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
CIS Institutions of Higher Education sign Memorandum in Baku
http://news.az/articles/society/26348
Thu 11 November 2010 05:10 GMT | 6:10 Local Time
Education of CIS member states signed a Memorandum on further development of
cooperation between CIS member states.
The Sixth International Forum on theme “Dialogue of cultures and languages in CIS
member states and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the 21st century”
wrapped up in Baku.
The forum was organized by the Moscow State Linguistic University and the Baku Slavic
University under the support of the CIS Intergovernmental Humanitarian Cooperation
Fund.
The conference brought together members of the Russian State Duma (Parliament of RF),
rectors, teachers and students from Azerbaijan, Russia, Belorussia, Tajikistan, Ukraine,
Kazakhstan, Kirgyzstan and Moldova.
Workshops, scientific and methodological seminars and lectures were conducted as part
of the forum. Also several Institutions of Higher Education of CIS member states signed
a Memorandum on further development of cooperation between CIS member states.
The Baku Slavic University signed a treaty on cooperation with Kyiv National Linguistic
University, Minsk State Linguistic University and Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University. One
of the advantages of this treaty is the establishment of the Center of Azeri language and
culture in these universities.
APA
Putin to visit children’s haematology, oncology, immunology centre
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669495&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 02.33
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit the
Federal Scientific and Clinical Centre of Children’s Haematology, Oncology and
Immunology in Moscow on Thursday, November 11.
The history of the centre dates back to 2005 when Putin received a letter from Dima
Rogachev who had invited the prime minister to eat pancakes with him. Putin visited the
10-year-old boy in August 2005 at the Russian Children’s Clinical Hospital where he was
undergoing treatment for leucosis. It was after that meeting that Putin ordered the
construction of a specialised oncology centre for children.
Dima died on September 20, 2007 at an Israeli clinic at the age of 12.
The German company Transumed GmbH Medizintechnik started building the centre in
August 2008. The prime minister visited the construction site and oversaw the project
personally. At a meeting with the organisers of the charitable party “Little Prince” on
May 29, 2010 in St. Petersburg, he suggested naming the new centre after Dima
Rogachev.
The main purpose of Putin’s visit to the centre is to check the status of the project ahead
of its commissioning scheduled for June 1, 2011 -- Child Protection Day. The prime
minister will join the children who have been cured from oncology diseases, the centre’s
employees and members of the charitable foundation “Give a Life” in planting flowers
and trees on the centre’s premises.
Governors should not remain in office longer than three terms – Medvedev
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/11/11/33230247.html
Nov 11, 2010 04:13 Moscow Time
The governors of the Russian regions should not hold their positions for longer than three
terms, stated President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting with the staff of the newspaper
Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
"Two terms, maximum three, they do not need more in order to prove their worth or to
realize their plans." RIA Novosti reports the Russian leader as having said.
"Our governors have worked long, hard and successfully, but this does not mean that it
should be a lifetime job. And especially the governor's chair should not be a sinecure (a
job which requires little or no effort)." President Medvedev added.
According to the president, "There should be continual fresh blood or something that we
know well will begin, something that we came to know very well during the period of the
70s and 80s, and that is stagnation."
The "top floor" in the decision-making process is the President. If someone appears to
have their own view of what it means to hold public office, then this individual has to
leave, even if he or she has made a lot of useful contributions." summed up the head of
state.
Medvedev says no plans to raise retirement age in Russia in near futurе
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669759&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 08.03
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev said there are no
plans to raise the retirement age in Russia in the years to come.
“We have no plans to raise the retirement age in the years to come not because there are
no objective reasons for that, but because such decisions require serious discussion and
public consensus,” Medvedev said at a meeting with Rossiiskaya Gazeta staff.
The full text of the discussion on November 8 is printed in Thursday’s edition of the
newspaper.
He believes that “hasty decisions in this field can cause public discontent and create
socio-political problems we have seen in some European countries.”
The president said that the Russian pension system would remain stable for several years
as “there is no enough money to pay pensions.”
“But if we look into the future, we have to think whether our economy will be able to
system such expenditures,” he added.
He admitted that Russia has “one of the lowest retirement ages” but also “early
mortality”.
“In a society where people live up to 90 years, retirement at the age of 70 appears to be
normal. In such a society people are confident that with the high level of health care and
proper attention to their own health after retirement they have many years to rest, travel
around the world and spend time with grandchildren,” the president said.
“It’s not so simple here. And this is why we cannot just copy Western pension systems.
Our life standards are different. And the average life expectancy is different too,” he
added.
Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said the country might increase the
retirement age in several years.
“It is impossible to increase the retirement age as long as the lifespan is unchanged. It is
premature to discuss the possible time of enlargement of the retirement age. Such
decisions cannot be made unless they gain support of the majority of citizens,” he said.
The share of working pensioners is essential for the enlargement of the retirement age,
Dvorkovich said. “We can do that if the majority of pensioners continue to work,” he
said, noting that only a third of pensioners had been working before the crisis.
He does not think that the Pension Fund deficit will have to be covered with larger taxes.
“Probably, pensions will grow more slowly than they do now, but we do not expect a
further rise of the Pension Fund deficit. I think it will stabilise,” he said.
However, Pension Fund head Anton Drozdov said it would be inexpedient to increase the
retirement age in Russia.
That would save 70 billion roubles in budget funds from 2012 but the effect would be the
opposite starting from 2020, he said.
Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said the fundamental basis for
that situation was the global aging of the population that provokes constant growth of
budget expenditures and commitments for the pension and healthcare systems.
“Obviously, the retirement age and the [wage] replacement rate should be brought in line
with the new reality. However this is very hard to do politically. The EU considered
raising the retirement age, and a wave of strikes followed immediately. The financial
system is a hostage of politics. Harsh actions don't work,” he said.
Russia needs fewer universities - Medvedev
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161284949.html
04:51 11/11/2010
The quality of education in Russia has deteriorated, and the country needs to cut the
number of universities and colleges, President Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Higher education has been devalued. We have a huge number of higher educational
establishments some of which are worth nothing," Medvedev said at a meeting with
employees of government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta on its 20th anniversary.
"The optimum number of universities should be substantially fewer than now," he said.
The Russian leader said he is not calling for inferior universities to be completely shut
down. "They need to either be strengthened or merged with others," Medvedev said.
"When I studied at the university, we, as far as I remember, had two educational
establishments in Leningrad [now St. Petersburg] that trained legal experts," the Russian
president, who had received a legal education in the 1980s, said.
"But when I was leaving St. Petersburg in 1999, there were already 50 of them," he said.
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
Russian govt to consider draft education programme for 2011-2015
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669662&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 06.36
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The presidium of the Russian government will
meet on Thursday, November 11, to consider a draft federal target programme on the
development of education in 2011-2015.
At a meeting with members of the governing council of Moscow’s School No. 1060 on
Wednesday, November 10, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said of the 157 billion roubles
to be disbursed for the programme, 53 billion roubles would be provided by the federal
budget and 10.5 billion roubles would go to secondary schools.
He stressed that the programme should become the main tool for implementing the
presidential initiative “Our New School”.
The programme calls for creating 100 retraining centres for teachers at big schools. They
should enable 80,000 teachers to undergo retraining and advanced training. In addition,
each federal district will set up permanent retraining centres at pedagogical institutes.
Sobyanin appoints Kalina as Moscow government minister
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15670057&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 10.05
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin appointed Isaak
Kalina as a Moscow government minister and the head of the Moscow education
department, a source in the Moscow Mayor’s Office said on Thursday.
Alongside, Igor Sinitsyn was appointed as the first deputy chief of the department of land
resources. Svetlana Kiryushina was appointed as a Moscow mayor’s aide from the
Russian government staff.
Sobyanin decided to dismiss Pyotr Saprykin from the post of the head of the department
of housing policy and the housing fund and to dismiss Igor Yeleferenko from the post of
the deputy chairman of the Moscow public relations department. The first deputy chief of
the press service of the Moscow mayor and the government, Alexander Khokhlov, filed
his resignation.
Satellites to make e-govt available across Russia – Rostelecom
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669636&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 06.02
PYATIGORSK, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Two K-2 satellites will be used to bring
Internet and e-government services to remote Russian regions where laying fibre optic
cables would be loss-making, Rostelecom Voce President Andrei Nashchekin said.
“Around two million people living in remote places with a low density of the population
will get access to the Internet for 300-400 roubles a month via satellites,” he said on
Wednesday, November 10.
He believes that in other regions communication channels should be built using publicprivate partnership. “Currently only 30 percent of the country are covered by the
broadband Internet connection,” he said.
Up to 100,000 domains can be registered in RF zone by yearend
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669535&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 03.03
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- As many as 100,000 domains can be registered in
the “.RF” zone by the end of the year, the director of the Coordination Centre for TLD
.RU, Andrei Kolesnikov, said ahead of public registration of new domain names to begin
on Thursday, November 11.
He believes that “several dozen thousand sites can be registered on the first day.”
“The average cost of registration for an .RF website is 500-600 roubles, the same as for
the .RU zone,” he said on Wednesday, November 10.
He recalled that only Russian citizens and legal entities registered in Russia would have
access to public registration. Eighteen Russian registrars will receive the applications.
The administrator of a domain cannot be changed for a year after registration. But “these
restrictions will be temporary and will be lifted in the future,” Kolesnikov added.
He confirmed that “the Coordination Centre has decided to draw up a stop list for the .RF
zone” to ban the use of obscene words in the domain names.
“There is already a list of 4,500-5,000 words and word combinations that cannot be used
in the names of websites,” he said.
Initially it was planned to hold the so-called Dutch auction and gradually reduce the
domain price within a month. But the Centre’s Coordination Council rejected this
proposal on September 2.
According to Internet Technical Director Deputy Director Maria Nikerova, three options
were considered for public registration. The simplest of them was to open the register to
everyone.
“The main key to this option is total transparency. The minus is that we expect a
tremendous influx of applications,” she said, adding that this could lead to technical
failures and mass purchases of domain names for subsequent resale for profit.
The second option was public registration at an increased price of around 5,000 roubles.
“This may prevent mass purchases of domain names, but the main problem – high price –
will remain,” Nikerova said.
The third option was public registration with a limited number of domain names that can
be registered by one administrator. “This will make it harder to buy domain names amass,
but there is a high risk that fraudsters will bypass this rule,” she said.
“One should not forget that the ‘.RF’ is a non-commercial national domain and this
imposes certain obligations on our citizens,” Nikerova said.
Priority registration that started in November 2009 ended in the middle of September
2010. During this period, governmental bodies, the owners of trademarks, mass media
and some non-commercial organisations could register their domain names. More than
18,000 domain names were registered during that time.
The registration of websites of mass media and non-commercial organisations in the
Cyrillic “.rf” domain zone resumed on July 26 after a ten-day pause.
The reception of applications for registration in the rf zone was suspended on July 15
following the introduction of tighter rules for mass media.
“During the first 20 minutes, more than a thousand domain names were registered,
including about 300 for mass media,” Andrei Vorobyov, public relations director of RUCentre, Russia’s biggest registrar of domain names, said.
The Coordination Centre for TLD .RU said only mass media registered before May 12,
2010 could get an address in the “.rf” domain zone. The decision was made after the
Federal Service for Supervision in Mass Communications and Information Technologies
had registered a considerable increase in the number of applications for registration of
electronic mass media with names containing the “.rf” element. The service decided it
was cybersquatting.
“The registration price is expected to decrease to the standard level of 600 roubles by the
end of the year,” RU-Centre said.
Priority reservation of websites in the “.rf” domain zone began on November 15, 2009.
Preference was given to holders of rights and government agencies in order to protect
them from Internet fraud. The first websites for government needs appeared in the
Russian-language section of the Internet on May 13.
Commercial companies’ websites started operating in the “.rf” domain zone from May
25.
The Coordination Centre said the delegation of the domain names had become possible
after the start of the operation of the “.RF” domain zone itself. New domain names in the
“.RF” zone will be delegated to those commercial companies that have gone through the
process of priority reservation and trademark verification.
“Delegation is a technical process that can take some time. After its completion, a domain
can start operating in the Cyrillic ‘.RF’ zone,” the Coordination Centre said.
Minister of Mass Communications Igor Shchegolev said earlier that priority reservation
of domain names had been extended for commercial companies till autumn.
“A number of problems arose during the reservation of names for commercial companies.
In particular, it turned out that some write the names using both Cyrillic and Latin
characters. This complicated the work of registrars considerably, and priority reservation
rules had to be changed several times,” the minister said.
Another problem impeding the introduction of Cyrillic domain names is search engines.
“Search engines do not recognise Cyrillic characters. Something has to be done about
that. We are working on this problem now,” he said.
Russia is the first country to have received a country code top-level domain on the
Internet.
Over 11 mln Muscovites take part in national population census in
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15669574&PageNum=0
11.11.2010, 04.31
MOSCOW, November 11 (Itar-Tass) -- A total of 95 percent of Moscow’s population, or
11.7 million people, took part in the national population census held on October 14-25,
2010.
“The final figure will be known in April 2011,” Moscow Deputy Mayor Valery
Vinogradov said on Wednesday, November 10.
Vinogradov said Muscovites had been more active this time than during the previous
census in 2002. “The activity of people increased. Almost 20 percent of people came to
the census stations in Moscow, while in the rest of the country this figure is 4-5 percent,”
he said.
“We are thankful to the census personnel of more than 47,000 people, including
policemen, social sector workers, police support volunteers, and others who helped us
with this challenging work,” Vinogradov said.
The main phase of the census was held on October 14-25. “The census was conducted in
strict compliance with the schedule,” Rosstat deputy head Irina Zbarskaya told Itar-Tass
earlier.
In some remote areas, the census started on March 1 and will continue till December. The
census was also extended for several days in two districts of the Krasnodar Territory
because of a devastating flood.
Population census will be extended up to December in several Russian regions having
territories that are hardly reachable due to climatic conditions, remoteness, and the lack
of transport infrastructure. These include the Far North, mountainous, steppe and taiga
territories in the republics of Altai, Buryatia, Dagestan, Karelia, Komi, Yakutia, and
Tyva, in the Baikal, Kamchatka, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories, in the Amur,
Arkhangelsk, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Magadan, Murmansk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, and
Yaroslavl region, in the Jeweish Autonomous Region, the Nenets, Khanty-Mansi, and
Chukotka Autonomous Areas.
Rosstat is confident that the census has justified its motto: “Everyone is Important for
Russia!” This is borne out by interim data announced by Rosstat officials in the middle of
the campaign. As for October 19, around 70 million people had been registered, which is
about half of the country's population.
This is the second census in the history of modern Russia. The previous one was held in
2002. According to that census, the population of the country was 147 million. Rosstat
says now there are 141.9 million people in the country.
The first information on Russia's population will be summarised in April 2011, the final
results will be available in the fourth quarter of 2012 and published by the end of 2013.
For the first time Rosstat will post the data on its official website for free access.
The overall budget of the census is around 17 billion roubles.
Russia joins executive board of UN Women
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/11/11/33229219.html
Nov 11, 2010 00:38 Moscow Time
Russia has joined the executive board of the new United Nations structure on gender
equality and the empowerment of women, the new structure is called "UN Women".
During the voting, Russia was supported by 46 out of 54 states. All in all, the board
includes 41 countries, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Estonia and Hungary.
The new structure is headed by the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, reports
ITAR-TASS.
The UN General Assembly made the decision to establish it on July 2nd. It will be in
charge of women's issues and gender equality issues.
ICJU head calls for journalist congress after attack on Russian reporter
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/11/11/33250430.html
Nov 11, 2010 10:20 Moscow Time
Secretary General of the International Confederation of Journalists’ Unions, Russia,
Ashot Dzhazoyan has called for an emergency congress of the journalist community
following the attack on the Russian reporter Oleg Kashin.
“Government and law enforcement officials should be invited to the congress,”
Dzhazoyan said in an interview.
He welcomed a proposal to tighten punishment for attacks on journalists but complained
that in most cases the attackers go unpunished.
Investigators to renew journalist attack case
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161287059.html
10:17 11/11/2010
Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin ordered a new probe into a
2008 attack on a Russian journalist, a committee spokesman said on Thursday.
In November 2008, Mikhail Beketov, the editor-in-chief of the Khimkinskaya Pravda
newspaper, was severely beaten by unidentified attackers. He is now severely brain
damaged and confined to a wheelchair.
The case was frozen in mid-September because investigators were unable to identify and
charge any suspects.
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
‘Mandela Moment’ Awaits Russia in Yukos Trial: Julian Rimmer
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSwMofSAWQow
Commentary by Julian Rimmer
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The jury is out, or at least it would be if there was one.
Fascinated or appalled, Russia and the world await the verdict in the latest trial of
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of Yukos Oil Co. His fate now lies in the
hands of Judge Viktor Danilkin.
Few doubt the court’s independence of thought will be compromised by the Kremlin and
how it decides to handle this cause celebre. Khodorkovsky, who was sentenced in 2005 to
nine years in a Siberian labor camp for fraud and had his prison time reduced by one year
on appeal, has become a focal point for liberal dissent in Russia and critical opposition
abroad.
Government officials are desperate to be rid of the former oligarch, whose vast wealth
and increasing political influence led to his arrest in 2003 after a falling-out with then
President Vladimir Putin. Whatever course of action they take, he won’t go away quietly.
The judge is scheduled to begin handing down his verdict on Dec. 15.
Should they free Khodorkovsky, it’s unlikely he would maintain airwave silence. If, as
Khodorkovsky predicted in his closing statement to the court, he is sentenced to an
additional six years on embezzlement and money laundering charges, he will symbolize
something deeply troubling about modern Russia.
President Dmitry Medvedev doesn’t need his legal background to be aware that the
judicial process throughout the “Affair Khodorkovsky” has been less than satisfactory.
He also should know that Russia may be facing a “Mandela moment” of sorts.
Fight for Freedom
The analogy to Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years under South Africa’s
apartheid regime, may seem like a stretch. There are no similarities in the path they trod
to incarceration, and the causes they championed were diametrically opposed. Mandela
was fighting for freedom from a racist government. Khodorkovsky was mostly concerned
with personal enrichment and is hardly viewed as a flower of liberty.
But the two cases illustrate defining moments for two nations that struggled to adopt
democracy and the rule of law.
At this stage, Khodorkovsky poses a nuisance to Putin, as is evident from the prime
minister’s reaction every time he is asked about the case. Yet if prosecutors succeed in
imprisoning Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant, Platon Lebedev, for another term, their
profile will undoubtedly be raised.
Martyr Status
Supporters of the defendants have been courting the Western media and ensuring
Khodorkovsky receives mostly sympathetic press. These days, Russian leaders no longer
have the option of eliminating someone in Siberia, and they will be wary of conferring
martyr status on the former oil tycoon. They must also consider the prospect that they
may have to go through the whole travesty again when his next parole is due.
Khodorkovsky can’t be gagged indefinitely.
His case also serves as a political barometer to investors in Russia. At this juncture, the
government can’t afford to alienate international capital through another public-relations
disaster. At a price/earnings ratio of less than 10, Russian stocks trade at a hefty discount,
compared with 12.5 for Turkey and 14 for Brazil. The nation aims to plug its budget
deficit with the help of an ambitious $50 billion privatization process that will require the
support of global fund managers.
Unusually for currencies considered viable for the carry trade that has characterized
emerging-market investment, the ruble has fallen 2 percent against the U.S. dollar this
year, and Russia’s economic recovery has been more sluggish than its trading partners.
Russia also fell eight places in Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions
Index to rank 156th (alongside Tajikistan and Kenya). This is hardly the direction
President Medvedev meant to take his country.
Back to Gulag
Russia must tackle these issues, and dispatching Khodorkovsky back to the gulag will
only intensify international criticism, jeopardizing Russia’s modernization program.
Sending him on a long walk to freedom may be galling for Putin, but compromise may be
unavoidable.
The furor over another conviction would surely cast a cloud over the presidential election
campaign for 2012 and overshadow Medvedev’s efforts to project a better image for
Russia. He has taken up the cause of modernizing Russia, just like Peter the Great did;
has shaken hands with world leaders; posted messages on Twitter; and lifted weights with
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also launched the high-tech research
hub of Skolkovo, near the capital, and sacked Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, often
viewed as the embodiment of Russian cronyism.
Soccer Bid
Mindful of the fillip given to Brazil’s economy when that country won the right to host
the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Medvedev and Putin have
enthusiastically endorsed Russia’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. The event would
provide a boost to national self-esteem, but it’s hard to see this happening with the
backdrop of renewed hostilities with the Western media over Russia’s most notorious
prisoner.
There are signs of late that the kopek has dropped and that the Russian leadership has
grasped the importance of international public relations. The stage management of
Khodorkovsky’s second prosecution has been as clumsy as his first one. It is doubtful if
Khodorkovsky will ever be proven unequivocally guilty of anything, except perhaps
hubris.
The South African regime once viewed Mandela as a terrorist. Now they think of him as
a savior. It’s too much to think the same could ever be thought of Khodorkovsky but a
politically savvy display of leniency might be the catalyst for a softer, hopey-changey
feel to government in Russia.
For the most high-profile casualty of Putin’s refusal to brook dissent it may be a long
walk to freedom or a long walk back to Siberia. It’s a long walk somewhere.
(Julian Rimmer is a trader at CF Global Trading in London. The opinions expressed are
his own. His firm or clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column.)
To contact the writer of this column: Julian Rimmer at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this column: James Greiff at [email protected]
Last Updated: November 10, 2010 19:00 EST
Russia’s legal mire
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ef2e918-ed03-11df-991200144feab49a.html#axzz14xaZ183V
Published: November 10 2010 20:52 | Last updated: November 10 2010 20:52
Supporters of Russia’s ruling “tandem” of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev often
complain that the west is unfair in criticising its democratic record. Quietly, some suggest
Russia is not yet ready for full democracy. Free elections might return liberals who would
take the country back to 1990s-style disorder, or nasty nationalists. Russians must be
protected from themselves.
Yet perhaps the most pernicious failing of Russia’s current system is that while many
Russians may feel better off than a few years ago, they cannot feel protected. Last
weekend’s vicious beating of the journalist Oleg Kashin, his skull, jaw, leg, and fingers
smashed with an iron bar, is the latest of many distressing illustrations.
A corrosive combination of what Mr Medvedev has termed “legal nihilism” and
corruption means Russians cannot feel safe that law enforcement authorities will protect
them from harm. Or, if they do suffer harm, that the legal system will enable them to
secure justice or redress. Journalists cannot feel safe doing their jobs. Tycoons cannot
feel safe from possible state expropriation, smaller business owners from corporate
raiding – often by the police. Expectant mothers cannot feel safe that they will be able to
give birth without demands for a bribe if they want an anaesthetic.
Senior Russians point out that similar problems, sadly, are found in many other countries,
including its fellow Brics. But Russia’s nominal per capita income is more than twice that
of China, eight times that of India. Its lack of legal protections is arguably the biggest
factor separating it from the more prosperous nations whose ranks it aspires to join. It
may also harm Russia’s prospects of making that transition. It is surely at least one of the
factors why Russia’s stock market trades on a hefty discount to other big emerging
markets. It may be a reason why foreign direct investment is not picking up, post-crisis,
as quickly as the government would like.
All that makes the lack of progress on legal reforms – in spite of the pledges of both Mr
Medvedev and, earlier, Mr Putin (who promised a “dictatorship of laws”) – perplexing.
The likely conviction of former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky next month on new
embezzlement charges, described even by former senior officials as absurd, is proof of
that. Yet the rule of law is not an abstract value. Until Russians – not just journalists but
all citizens – start feeling a bit safer, investors will never feel entirely safe either.
Blood money rejected in 'golden gun' assassination
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/blood-money-rejected-in-golden-gunassassination
Awad Mustafa
Last Updated: Nov 11, 2010
DUBAI // The family of the murdered Chechen warlord Sulim Yamadayev will not seek
blood money or take any legal action against the two men convicted of involvement in
the assassination, a court was told yesterday.
MH, 37, an Iranian groomsman for the Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, and MJ, 32,
a Tajik national, were sentenced to life in prison in April for aiding and abetting the
murder and possessing the gold-plated 9mm Stechkin APS pistol believed to be the
murder weapon.
On appeal, the public prosecution asked the court to implement Al Qasas, the capital
retributive punishment under UAE law. Al Qasas, however, also gives the victim's family
the right to pardon the perpetrators and reduce the sentence imposed by the court.
Lawyers for the convicted men presented a declaration to Dubai Court of Appeals
yesterday, signed by the Yamadayev family executor, the dead man's brother Isa
Yamadayev.
The declaration said the family relinquished their right to retributive punishment in any
criminal or civil claim related to the case, and are not pursuing any financial
compensation or blood money from anyone involved, including suspects still sought by
Interpol.
The document will be translated from Russian to Arabic and added to the case file in
court at the next hearing on December 8.
Sulim Yamadayev was a former Chechen rebel commander who changed sides with his
four brothers in 1999 and joined pro-Moscow militias. Two of his brothers were
murdered in 2003 and 2008, and Sulim was shot dead in the basement car park of his
home at Jumeirah Beach Residence on March 28 last year.
Dubai police have accused Adam Delimkhanov, a prominent Russian MP and cousin of
President Kadyrov, of ordering the killing. Interpol has issued arrest warrants for seven
Russians, including Delimkhanov.
[email protected]
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, November 11, 2010
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20101111/161286104.html
08:10 11/11/2010
POLITICS
This summer's Russian-U.S. spy scandal was the result of betrayal by a Russian
intelligence officer. Investigative reporting.
(Kommersant)
President Dmitry Medvedev will hold an Internet conference with Russians.
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Right Cause, which styles itself as a liberal opposition party, has become the first party to
officially support President Dmitry Medvedev's candidacy for a second term in 2012.
Party co-founder Georgy Bovt said Wednesday that the decision reflects the country's
political reality.
(Moscow Times)
The Republican Party that won last week's midterm elections to the U.S. Congress will
block any initiatives from President Barack Obama. This could not only freeze the
healthcare reform but also fold Obama's policy of "resetting" relations with Russia.
(Kommersant)
BUSINESS
Russian phone retailer Euroset is preparing for an IPO in London, three investment
bankers and one company manager said. The IPO could be held at the London Stock
Exchange in 2011 and involve some 30% of the company's stock. The final decision will
be made by November 20.
(Vedomosti)
British lighting equipment producer Abacus has announced plans to build a plant in St.
Petersburg next year. Abacus is "looking at how we can support the Winter Olympics in
Sochi," said Andrew Morris Richardson, chairman of the board of Abacus Russia and a
board member of British Abacus.
(Moscow Times)
English could become the only language for communication between traffic controllers
and pilots for non-military Russian flights, said Alexander Neradko, head of the Federal
Air Transportation Agency. Currently, both Russian and English are used for radio
communication at the country's international airports, while the rest only use Russian.
(Moscow Times)
Russia hopes to join the World Trade Organization next year, presidential aide Arkady
Dvorkovich said.
(Vedomosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The European Union plans to spend €1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) on diversification of energy
supplies by 2020. The EU's energy strategy could strip Russia of part of its sales market
but experts say the EU has little chance of implementing it.
(Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
City Hall's website crashed Wednesday after Mayor Sergei Sobyanin published his longawaited plan to fight Moscow's notorious traffic jams. The plan in particular proposes
barring trucks from the city during daylight hours. Experts say this will only result in
shortages of goods and price hikes.
(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti)
The Investigative Committee's top department was assigned on Wednesday to handle the
case of the attack on Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin, who remains in a drug-induced
coma, as suspects singled out by the media denied involvement.
(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Moscow Times, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned parents from paying for efforts to
repair and equip schools because there is a special federal target program to deal with the
issue.
(Kommersant)
OIL & GAS
Bulgaria's Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposed joint venture with Russian energy
giant Gazprom to run the Bulgarian section of the planned South Stream pipeline that will
run across the Black Sea. The agreement envisions a 50-50 partnership between Gazprom
and Bulgarian Energy Holding and is to be signed during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's
visit to Sofia on Saturday.
(Vremya Novostei, Moscow Times)
Gazprom's sales to South Korea should pull even with supplies to major European buyers
like France by 2017 as the Russian gas export monopoly turns its attention toward
burgeoning Asian markets, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said Wednesday.
(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei)
IT
Registration of ordinary users in the Cyrillic Internet domain (.рф) will start at midday
Thursday.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
November 11, 2010 09:50
Third man suspected of role in Krasnodar mass murder detained – source
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=201094
MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Police have detained the third man suspected of
involvement in killing 12 people in the village of Kushchyovskaya, the Krasnodar
territory, last weekend, a law enforcement source told Interfax.
"One more local has been detained under an investigation into the criminal case dealing
with the mass murder in Kushchyovskaya," he said.
Two of the detainees were earlier convicted for committing serious crimes, he said.
Interfax has yet to immediately obtain official confirmation of this information.
Va
November 10, 2010
Spy Sandal Version 2.0
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=International&articleid=a1289408649
By Tom Balmforth
Russia Profile
For Countries of Georgia’s Size with Enemies the Size of Russia, Soft Power Swipes
Like a Well-Timed Spy Bust Are a Useful Weapon
The recent bumper crop of Russian spy busts reaped a fresh harvest on Friday with
the arrest in Georgia of a 13-man spy ring, accused of passing military intelligence
to the Russians. Moscow dismisses the charges as political theater, which Tbilisi has
no reputation for shying away from. Total fabrication does seem far-fetched, but
whatever the truth, the bust could squeeze an old pressure point in U.S.-Russian
relations ahead of two key world summits and in the wake of the crossroad U.S.
congressional elections.
Thirteen spies, including four Russian citizens and a number of Georgian air force pilots,
were arrested after the ring was infiltrated by a Soviet-trained spy, and are being detained
in Tbilisi for leaking military intelligence to Russia for years, the Georgian Interior
Ministry said Friday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the arrests as a “provocation.” In a
statement on November 5, the Foreign Ministry accused Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili’s regime of “chronic anti-Russian spy-mania,” saying that the bust was made
to stoke anti-Russian hysteria at home and was especially timed to derail the upcoming
OSCE Summit in December.
While not denying Saakashvili’s predilection for political theater, analysts could not
agree that the spies were simply fabricated. “It looks awfully serious,” said one Western
expert on the region based in Tbilisi who requested anonymity. “They name people and
most of them are Georgian citizens. And they happen to be air force pilots. I don’t think it
looks tremendously flattering for the Georgian government to have to arrest seven of its
own air force pilots.”
Alexander Rondeli, the president for the Tbilisi-based Georgian Foundation for Strategic
and International Studies, agreed. “You cannot invent something about this many people.
And there are still more to come: I think there is another installment of this serial yet.
They were all recruited when the Russian army was still in Batumi. These are not today’s
people – they are the old cadre. Why invent something if it exists?” he asked. The New
York Times cited an estimate from the Georgian Interior Ministry that there were 20,000
active KGB agents in Georgia when the Soviet Union collapsed, and they have been
difficult to weed out.
In various gleeful interviews since Friday, Saakashvili has praised the strength of his
counterintelligence forces and emphasized the waning power of Russia’s foreign
intelligence services. Russia’s print press is touting a possible spy swap with Georgia
similar to the one that took place between America and Russia after the espionage saga
with Anna Chapman et al. Moskovsky Komsomolets today named three possible
Georgian spies who are serving time in Russia for alleged espionage in the North
Caucasus.
But meanwhile, predictably bellicose rhetoric has ensued from Russia. “This is a very
serious situation, and those who have undertaken this last provocation in Georgia should
recall very clearly that Russia does not abandon its citizens when they are in trouble,”
Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev told Interfax, referring unambiguously to the
pretext on which Russia went to war with Georgia just over two years ago. Moscow
stubbornly refuses to admit that those detained are its spies, and is demanding
(unsuccessfully so far) consular access to them.
But Russia really flew off the handle because of the timing of the bust, ahead of the key
OSCE Summit in Astana on December 1, which is expected to focus on the South
Caucasus peace resolution process in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia evidently suffers a blow
to its credibility as it goes into the summit bearing allegations of spying on its South
Caucasus neighbor. To that extent Georgia has landed another soft-power blow to Russia
only weeks after it infuriated Moscow by offering a visa-waiver to Russia’s North
Caucasians.
“A small country is only able to use soft power, to use diplomatic channels. It’s
diplomacy. We are practically at war with Russia because Russia did not fulfill its
obligations of the post-war plan,” said Rondeli, referring to the ceasefire terms negotiated
by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the wake of the August war. “Then on Georgian
territory we had this operation, so I think the Georgian government is just making use of
it to attract attention to show that we are still under pressure,” he added.
The bust also comes at a key time for Russia’s transatlantic relations. In the recent
congressional elections, the Republican Party won a small victory over the Barack
Obama administration, which has championed improved relations with Russia. Writing
today, Kommersant cites analysts who see Saakashvili’s move as trying to capitalize on
the Republican comeback in the United States to “toughen the U.S. stance on Russia” and
bring Georgia back into the foreground of U.S. foreign policy, as it was under Republican
ex-president George Bush.
But most significantly, perhaps, Russia is due at the landmark NATO Summit in Lisbon
in less than two weeks, where NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will
unveil the new strategic concept for the alliance. With Medvedev earnestly pushing for a
new European security architecture, Moscow could do without spy briefings landing on
the desks of western politicians, especially in relation to countries seeking, however
improbably, membership in the alliance.
But it isn’t clear if this story will make waves internationally, if that indeed is what
Tbilisi is strategizing on. Meanwhile in Georgia, Rondeli said, the local reaction was not
one of surprise. “The people who got this news about the spy scandal are very calm. No
one is surprised – it’s just normal. It would be strange if there wasn’t this kind of
operation on our territory from the enemy. Enemy is a bad word, but that’s what it is,”
said Rondeli.
EU to have another stab at forming untied energy front
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
bne
November 11, 2010
The European Commission unveiled its new vision for energy strategy over the next
decade on November 10. The plan intends to implement a shared gas and electricity
supply network, which it hopes would help countries coordinate energy policy,
particularly in relation with key partners.
The plan evidently has its relations with Russia at the forefront of its mind in compiling
the vision. To the delight of Moscow, over the last decade the EU has utterly failed to
pull itself together sufficiently to present a united front in energy policy. Apparently
referring to the physical hardwiring of energy infrastructure - although it could just as
well be speaking of politics and economics - a European Commission statement read:
"By 2015, no member state should be isolated."
Instead, despite many tough words, Russia has picked off targets at its leisure, with
several individual EU members signed up to help build more infrastructure linking
Europe to Russian energy suppliers, despite the bloc having an official strategy to
reduce its dependence on Moscow.
Unveiling "Energy 2020", EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger called for
investment of EUR 1tn over the next decade to "Europeanise energy policy," reports the
BBC, with the cash coming from both public and private sources.
Correspondents note that the plan for a shared network is not new, but claim that it's
significant that it is endorsed by Germany's Oettinger. The country has previously
lobbied hard to weaken legislation, and has one of the closest relationships with Moscow
amongst EU members.
Winner takes all?
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/winner-takes-all-/69399.aspx
By Gary Peach
11.11.2010 / 04:44 CET
Lithuania, Belarus and Russia are competing to be the Baltic's energy power.
Over the past year, a high-stakes nuclear race has begun in the Baltic region, with
the winner of the three-way competition – between Russia, Lithuania and Belarus –
likely to emerge as the region's energy power.
All three know that a costly power surplus would result if three power plants were
eventually built in the region. And so each understands that the quicker their project gets
under way, the likelier they are to succeed.
Geographically, Russia and Belarus are pulling a flanking manoeuvre around Lithuania.
Russia is building its plant in the Kaliningrad exclave, just 15 kilometres from Lithuania's
western border, while Belarus has broken ground roughly the same distance from
Lithuania's eastern border. Understandably, Lithuanians, who lament the EU-enforced
closure of their Chernobyl-type reactor at Ignalina last December, are nervous, and they
are demanding more environmental impact studies from both sides.
More importantly, the Lithuanians are balking at any attempts to court them. So when
Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, and Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belarus's president,
invited Lithuania to join their respective projects, Andrius Kubilius, Lithuania's prime
minister, was adamant: his country, together with Estonia, Latvia and possibly Poland,
will build its own plant in Visaginas, on the same site as the old Ignalina facility. Vilnius
hopes to select a strategic investor by the end of this year. Construction could begin in
2012.
In the meantime, Russia is hoping to woo a Western partner – and thereby to discourage
interest in Lithuania's plant. For Russia's state-controlled nuclear industry, this is an
unprecedented privatisation. Rosatom, the country's integrated nuclear corporation,
claims there is immense interest in the 49% stake available in the Kaliningrad plant;
officials from Italy's Enel (probably prodded by Putin's friend in Rome, Silvio
Berlusconi) have already visited the site.
Still, it will be a tough sell for the Russians. They are promoting the plant's export
potential to an energy-deficit region, but Kaliningrad is isolated and Moscow has no
guarantees that it will be able to export output via Lithuania or Poland. Other proposed
routes – undersea cables to countries such as Germany and Sweden – are long shots.
Therein lies the irony of Russia's project: to be successful, Moscow will have to woo the
very country it is trying to marginalise.
Kubilius is well aware of this. He and Putin discussed their projects in March. “I asked
him [Putin] ‘Where is the market for the electricity that will be produced in Kaliningrad?'
He didn't answer,” Kubilius told European Voice in July. “I said that we're building our
station for our market and our needs. Then I asked him again about his market, and [he]
decided to switch the topic.”
Russia, of course, could shrug off Lithuania and cut a deal with Poland, which is looking
to build its first reactor by 2022 as the country weans itself off coal. But this presents its
own problems. No grid links the Russian exclave to Poland, so infrastructure outlays
would be daunting. “My general conclusion on the other projects is very simple: if we are
successful with our project, I don't know if those other ones will be implemented,”
Kubilius said.
On a fast track in Kaliningrad
For now, Moscow is trying to gain the upper hand by fast-tracking construction of
the Kaliningrad facility, the Baltic Nuclear Power Plant. And the pace is indeed
unprecedented. The dual-reactor facility was announced in April 2008 and work
began in February. That is less than two years from declaration to construction, far
less than the worldwide norm of about five years.
To do that, Rosatom has all but ignored the residents of Kaliningrad, who are broadly
against the idea of an atomic plant in their largely unspoiled, albeit underdeveloped,
province. The company wants to meet a 2016 deadline for the first of the plant's two
1,150 megawatt reactors to be up and running, and apparently nothing will stop it.
Lithuania does not have the luxury of circumventing formalities as it seeks to regain its
lost nuclear might. (Prior to Ignalina's shutdown, the only country in the world more
dependent on nuclear energy was France.) All EU norms and regulations will have to be
observed, particularly since Lithuania, which is still isolated from the European grid, is
asking the EU to fund a grid connection with Poland and an underwater power cable to
Sweden. Together with Estonia and Latvia, and with support from a majority of
Lithuanians, who are decidedly pro-nuclear, Vilnius is assured that its plant will have its
market. If it finds an investor, it will aim for a 2018 deadline.
Belarus is the odd one out in the race. Since Russia will build the plant, and finance
it, Moscow can always find a reason to delay completion. This is already taking
place. The two sides have argued over price, infrastructure and sales of electricity, and
Minsk has had little choice but to give in to Russia's demands. And since relations
between the two countries are at an all-time low, after trenchant criticism of Lukashenka
by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, there is no certainty that Belarus's 2,000
megawatt facility will ever be built.
Rosatom, of course, would be happy to build the plant, which has a tentative 2016
launch date, if it has assurances that investments will be returned. The ultimate
decision, however, will be political. The facility will probably become another carrot
that Moscow can dangle before Minsk as the two countries quarrel over everything
from oil prices to a customs union.
Gary Peach is a journalist based in Latvia.
National Economic Trends
Euroclear Link May Generate Ruble Demand ‘Wave,’ Citigroup Says
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-11/euroclear-link-may-generate-rubledemand-wave-citigroup-says.html
November 11, 2010, 3:24 AM EST
By Emma O’Brien
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Russian federal debt being traded on international platforms such
as Euroclear would spur a “wave of demand” for the ruble as foreign investors gain
access to the bonds, Citigroup Inc. said.
Euroclear Bank SA, which runs the world’s largest system for settling bonds, will begin a
study on establishing a link with the Russian market in the next few weeks that could
allow investors to buy and sell domestic notes without the need for a local trading
account, according to Bart Wauters, the Brussels- based company’s Russia director.
Foreigners would then be able to more easily buy the government ruble-denominated
debt known as OFZs, Wauters said in a Nov. 2 interview.
“Penetration of real money accounts in the Russian OFZ markets is still tiny,” Luis Costa,
an emerging-markets credit strategist for Citigroup in London said by e-mail today. “The
currency spillover can be huge in the ruble as it creates a new wave of demand for the
currency.”
Opening access to the ruble debt of Russian companies currently not settled by Euroclear
or Clearstream International SA, which together process the bulk of the world’s
Eurobonds, would also bolster the currency, Costa said.
“One has to be long ruble,” he said, referring to positions traders place on a security when
they expect it to strengthen.
The ruble climbed to a 2 1/2-week high against the dollar today, adding as much as 0.6
percent to 30.4675 in Moscow trading. It also strengthened versus the euro, gaining as
much as 0.5 percent to 42.0550, the strongest since Oct. 13. OFZs due 2016 fell, pushing
the yield up 3 basis points to 7.22 percent.
--Editors: Linda Shen, Peter Branton.
To contact the reporter on this story: Emma O’Brien in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected].
Russia to cut budget deficit to 2.9 pct of GDP in 2013
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161288298.html
11:45 11/11/2010
SEOUL, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is going to halve its budget deficit to 2.9
percent of GDP by 2013 in line with agreements reached at the G20 Group summit in
South Korea, a Russian delegation source said on Thursday.
"The federal budget deficit is expected to stay within 3.6 percent of GDP in 2011, 3.1
percent of GDP in 2012 and 2.9 percent of GDP in 2013," the source told RIA Novosti.
The deficit could be partly cut through the government's exit from stimulus measures, the
source said.
"At the same time, some stimulus measures will be continued, for example, state support
on the labor market, interest rate subsidizing and measures to support the automobile
industry, aerospace and other sectors," he said.
The government's program to raise the efficiency of budget spending until 2012 could
also help reduce the budget deficit, the source said.
Merill Lynch subsidiary to organize sale of VTB's shares
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20101111115527.shtml
RBC, 11.11.2010, Moscow 11:55:27.The Federal Agency for State Property
Management and Merrill Lynch Securities, Merrill Lynch's subsidiary, have signed an
agency agreement on the organization of the sale of a 10- percent stake in VTB, the
agency reported to RBC today.
Merrill Lynch Securities must provide an assessment of the company's market
price of shares (by hiring an independent appraiser) in the near future and provide the
regulator with suggestions regarding buyers, the price for shares and other terms of the
share purchase agreement.
As reported earlier, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a government
decree on November 2 appointing Merrill Lynch Securities as an agent for the sale of
10 percent of VTB's shares as part of the lending institution's privatization.
Trade Surplus Widens
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/trade-surplus-widens/422208.html
11 November 2010
The country’s trade surplus widened to $10.4 billion in September from a revised $8
billion a month earlier as imports fell for the first time this year, the Central Bank said
Wednesday.
Imports declined to $23.55 billion from $23.82 billion in August, the regulator said on its
web site. Exports rose to $33.96 billion from $31.78 billion.
(Bloomberg)
September Trade Balance: a Short Respite, Yet No Clue to RUB
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
VTB Capital
November 11, 2010
According to the CBR, Russia's monthly external trade balance rebounded to USD
10.4bn in October from USD 8.3bn in September.
Monthly exports jumped 6% MoM to USD 34bn and their annual growth even slightly
accelerated to 18.1% YoY from 17.5% YoY. This was the first rebound in exports
growth rate since it started falling from the hefty 64.4% YoY in February.
Monthly imports edged lower to USD 23.6 (1% MoM down) in September. Annual
growth rate for imports dropped to 33.7% YoY from August's exceptional 53.2% YoY.
At the same time, if we exclude the one-off effect of regulatory changes in the
pharmaceutical sector, which pushed imports higher in August, September's data would
reveal the acceleration in imports growth.
The September trade balance data does not help to explain the rouble's performance that
month. With the USD 10.4bn trade balance, the current account surplus should have
stood around USD 4-5bn, only marginally lower than it was in May-July. Hence, the
rouble's weakness could have been only due to a large capital outflow, which prompted
the CBR to sell USD 1.4bn to curb the rouble's depreciation.
With higher oil prices in October we think the trade balance that month was similar to the
September figure even if imports continued rising. However, the capital outflow was
likely even bigger as it prompted the CBR to sell USD 3.8bn to support the currency.
We expect this two-month capital outflow to shrink (either due to portfolio inflows in
response to the new round of QE or on more active external borrowings by Russian
banks) and reiterate our 29.30 USD/RUB forecast for the end of the year.
Aleksandra Evtifyeva
Weekly CPI accelerates to 0.2% w/w in November
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
Alfa Bank
November 11, 2010
According to Rosstat, the first week of November saw CPI accelerate to 0.2% w/w after
four weeks at 0.1% w/w. YTD consumer inflation is now 7.0%, in line with our FY10
forecast of 8.6%.
Although we noticed a slight acceleration in prices for dairy and bread a week ago, it was
not strong enough then to increase overall weekly price growth. Now, however, this
growth has intensified and affects a wider range of products, including sugar, vegetables
and poultry. It looks as though consumer prices are being affected by the ruble exchange
rate depreciation to the basket of 5% since September driven primarily by the 9%
weakening to the euro, the key currency for Russia's imports. We expect CPI will grow
0.8% m/m in November followed by price growth of 0.9%-1.0% in December, which
will bring the annual figure to 8.6% y/y in 2010.
Natalia Orlova
Duma committee approves oil and gas tax hikes
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
VTB Capital
November 11, 2010
News: The Budget Committee of the State Duma yesterday recommended that the earlier
government proposal to increase MET for oil and gas be approved at the first reading.
According to the initiative, the base rate for oil MET is due to be increased 6.4% in 2012
and 5.4% in 2013. Meanwhile, the government intends to increase gas MET 61% in
2011, 5.9% in 2012 and 5.5% in 2013.
Our View: The decision is not final yet, but we believe the proposed reform is most likely
to be approved, considering we have not heard any major arguments against the increase
from the parties involved. Meanwhile, the proposed changes reflect only part of the
reform which could also involve a partial reduction in export duties and the introduction
of excess profit tax, as was proposed in October. The resulting effect would be largely
neutral, although the final layout of the reform would only become clear in 2011. The
increase in oil MET in 2012 would hit the profitability of the Russian oil majors by some
$0.9/bbl (8%).
Meanwhile, as we estimated recently (see our Energy Watch: New Taxation at a Glance,
of 3 November), approximately the same margin would be accrued as a result of
introducing the proposed export duty cuts and profit-based taxation. This supports our
general vision that the government is aiming to diversify taxation, rather than shift the
effective tax rate for the oil industry. The gas taxation story is a bit different. The
proposed change would increase the tax burden on the gas industry by some USD 1.8bn,
with an effect on Gazprom's EBITDA of around 3%, and NOVATEK's of around 6%. As
we wrote earlier, the tax sector is potentially more threatened by the taxation reform,
since gas margins in Russia would be getting unjustifiably rich along with domestic price
liberalisation. However, the currently proposed hike is still marginal, and largely
expected, in our view.
Lev Snykov
Ministry of Finance proposes consumer finance draft law
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
VTB Capital
November 11, 2010
News: Kommersant reported today that the Russian Ministry of Finance had proposed a
draft law regulating consumer finance. According to the paper, the key changes will
include the following:
- Within a week after a loan becomes overdue, the bank will have to notify the borrower
by a registered letter.
- Bank will not be allowed to distribute banking cards by mail unless they cannot verify
that the customer has personally or through his/her representative received the card.
- It will be prohibited to include additional services (such as insurance) into the credit
agreement.
Our View: The draft law, if approved, will have a negative effect on the consumer
finance sector, both increasing its costs and decreasing income by removing some fees
and commissions. However, we note that state officials have been talking about the law
since 2004. The timing of the draft law approval is uncertain. Moreover, we believe the
draft law will be amended before approval, and the final provisions will have a
significantly lesser effect on consumer banks.
Roman Luchkovsky
New law on express loans to be less profitable for banks, more secure for
consumers
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161288978.html
12:28 11/11/2010
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Finance Ministry has developed
a draft law introducing new regulations for express loans making the procedure less
profitable for banks and more secure for consumers, a Russian respected business daily
said.
The ministry published on its website a draft law it has been developing since 2004,
Kommersant said. "The existing legislation and procedure for consumer credit... did not
take into account the internationally accepted specific rights of the borrower," the
ministry said.
If the law is adopted, banks will have to meet a list of new requirements in procedures to
issue loans, including notifying borrowers of overdue debts no later than one week after
its occurrence and strictly through a registered letter.
"One letter with a notification costs some 30 rubles ($1), and if a market average delay is
10%, while a bank has some 5 million customers, costs of mail would be $ 500,000 per
month, this is an incredible amount," a member of Renaissance Credit bank management
Sergei Korolyov said.
However, the head of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies, Dmitry
Yanin said some banks are intentionally not notifying borrowers for a long time so the
size of the debt plus penalties and interest continue to grow.
Text notifications by phone or e-mail are not an option as the bank cannot prove that
notice in court.
The draft bill also bans sending credit cards if it cannot be "unequivocally established
that it [the card] was received by the borrower personally or by his legal representative."
"And this seems logical since one cannot determine whether the borrower received his
card or not, some banks are starting to charge a fee for this, and an outstanding debt
occurs without the knowledge of the potential beneficiary," a deputy chairman of Absolut
Bank Emil Yusupov said.
Another restriction stipulated by the bill concerns insurance. Banks working with
unsecured loans are required to exclude insurance from its agreements. "With mortgage
and auto loans, insurance contracts are issued as separate documents, and with consumer
loans, usually, this condition is included in the consumer credit contract, but in fact this is
a fake insurance as the payment for insurance cases for such loans tends to be zero, so
fees for insurance are an additional income source for banks," Yusupov said.
The level of rates and risks in the consumer finance sector will be largely determined by
the degree of elaborating the legislation, which for several years proved controversial,
leading to the delay in adopting the bill for more than six years.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Kuzbassrazrezugol, Polyus Gold, Rosneft: Russian Equity Preview
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHG4BNuzUJkE
By Jason Corcoran
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may be active in Russian trading.
Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close of trading
in Moscow.
The 30-stock Micex Index slid 1.3 percent to 1,574.63 at the close in Moscow. The
dollar-denominated RTS Index fell 1.3 percent to 1,637.50.
OAO Kuzbassrazrezugol (KZRU RU): Russia’s second-largest coal producer, plans to
boost exports to Asia, Chairman Andrei Bokarev said in an interview in Seoul yesterday.
Its shares added 0.3 percent to 35.6 kopeks on the RTS Stock Exchange.
OAO Polyus Gold (PLZL RX): Gold futures fell the most in three weeks, losing 1.6
percent to $1,388.10 per ounce as the dollar strengthened to the highest level in a month
against the euro, eroding the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset. Polyus, the country’s
biggest gold producer, lost 1.8 percent to 1,612.15 rubles on the Micex Stock Exchange.
OAO Rosneft (ROSN RX): Crude oil rose to a two-year high, adding as much as 1.4
percent to $87.89 per barrel after a report showed an unexpected decrease in inventories
as imports declined and refineries bolstered fuel production. Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil
producer, retreated 1 percent to 221.25 rubles on the Micex Stock Exchange.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]
Last Updated: November 10, 2010 22:00 EST
November 11, 2010 10:53
MICEX share-trading opens on upswing as oil prices rise
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=201110
MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Russia's MICEX Stock Exchange opened on Thursday
with the MICEX index gaining 0.6% to 1584 points in early trading as oil prices
worldwide continued to climb, and RTS-listed Russian oil pipeline company Transneft's
(RTS: TRNF) prefs leading the growth pack.
By 10:31 a.m. Moscow time, the RTS index was also up - 1.12% to 1655.3 points - and
most benchmark shares had posted early gains of within 1%.
VTB (RTS: VTBR) was up 0.9% on the MICEX, Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) had risen
0.6%, Gazprom Neft (RTS: SIBN) 0.7%, Norilsk Nickel (RTS: GMKN) 0.7% as well,
Lukoil (RTS: LKOH) 0.5%, Polyus Gold (RTS: PLZL) 0.9%, Rosneft (RTS: ROSN)
0.7%, Rostelecom (RTS: RTKM) 0.4%, Sberbank of Russia (RTS: SBER) 0.7%,
Surgutneftegas (RTS: SNGS) 0.2%,and Tatneft (RTS: TATN) 0.7%.
Transneft prefs were up 9.6% at 39,282 rubles per by 10:37 a.m. on Thursday, following
their inclusion on the MSCI Russia Standard weighted 0.81%.
Stock in IDGC Holding, despite its unexpected non-inclusion on the MSCI Russia, was
down 4.2%.
The MSCI Russia IMI includes shares in OJSC OGK-2 (RTS: OGKB) (weight 0.35%),
Mosenergosbyt (RTS: MSSB) (0.05%), and Pharmacy Chain 36.6 (RTS: APTK)
(0.07%). These shares were up from 1% to 2% on the MICEX Thursday morning.
The bank Vozrozhdenie's (RTS: VZRZ) shares bucked the trend, however, dropping
0.6%.
Cf
UPDATE 1-Russia's Transneft shares soar on MSCI Russia entry
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE6AA0JV20101111
Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:21am GMT
* Oil pipeline monopoly surges 8 pct on surprise inclusion
* Power group MRSK left out once again, shares drop
(Adds analyst comment, detail, updates shares)
MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Preference shares in Russian oil pipeline monopoly
Transneft (TRNF_p.MM) surged more than 8 percent on Thursday after the stock was
surprisingly added to the influential MSCI Russia share index.
The company, responsible for transporting Russia's vast reserves of oil to the rest of the
world, was the only change to the index following a biannual review.
The MSCI Russia index is used as a benchmark by emerging market investors
worldwide.
The move came as a shock to the market, which had tipped regional power group MRSK
(MRKH.MM) as the most likely candidate for inclusion due to increased liquidity.
[ID:nLDE6A9233]
"MRSK, our first choice (for inclusion), was overlooked this time, probably as it was
unable to meet the 50 percent relative liquidity requirement," analysts at Renaissance
Capital said in a note.
MRSK had also been tipped for inclusion, again without success, ahead of the last two
reviews.
Its shares were down nearly 4 percent at 0853 GMT.
Transneft, nearly 80 percent owned by the government, caused a flurry of excitement in
the investment community earlier this year when it was included on an early draft of
companies to be privatised by the state.
The company's management was against the sale of a stake however, and the plan was
later dropped after it emerged that bond covenants prevented a change in the shareholder
structure. [ID:nLDE69K0N2] (Reporting by John Bowker; editing by Maria Kiselyova
and Hans Peters )
Russia's FSK says half year net profit up 60 percent
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINLDE6AA09N20101111
MOSCOW | Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:57pm IST
MOSCOW Nov 11 (Reuters) - Russian power grid operator FSK (FEES.MM) said on
Wednesday its half year net profit jumped nearly 60 percent to 12.6 billion roubles
($411.2 million), up from just under 8 billion in the same period last year.
The company is one of the headline names on a list Russia is seeking to privatise as part
of a $60 billion fund-raising plan.
(Writing by John Bowker, Editing by Maria Kiselyova)
EuroSibEnergo to raise $1.5 bln in Asian IPO
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161287751.html
11:16 11/11/2010
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's largest private energy company
EuroSibEnergo plans to hold an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock
exchange to raise $1.5 billion, a source close to the placement told RIA Novosti on
Thursday.
"The company intends to sell 25 percent of its shares. Next week the IPO lead managing
banks will already start meetings with investors, but without the company's
representatives," the source said, adding the company planned to increase its value to $6
billion after the IPO.
EuroSibEnergo refused to comment.
EuroSibEnergo to IPO in bid to fund Norilsk war?
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
bne
November 11, 2010
EuroSibEnergo, the power utility owned by Oleg Deripaska, plans to seek $1.5bn in an
initial public offering in Hong Kong by the end of the year, Bloomberg reports. The plan
is the latest attempt by Deripaska to raise much-needed money on Hong Kong's bourse,
which offered huge support to the Rusal float at the start of the year in hope that it would
open the floodgates to Russian listings.
EuroSibEnergo plans to sell a 25% stake, a person familiar with the matter said, declining
to be identified because the information hasn't been made public. The company will start
meeting with potential investors next week, the source said.
Deripaska is still seeking cash to help with the huge debt burden accumulated during the
financial crisis, and offer him ammunition in the fight over Norilsk Nickel. Just last
week, Deripaska's En+ Group said that it had secured a $900m loan from state-controlled
investment bank VTB Capital to complete the refinancing of debt, which allowed the
group to regain control of a 25% stake in EuroSibEnergo that had been held by banks as
collateral.
Selling EuroSibEnergo would raise money for Deripaska's cash-strapped En+ Group, but
it remains unclear whether investors will have much appetite for the offering. Deripaska
tried in May to list his small molybdenum miner, Strikeforce Mining and Resources
(SMR), but investors rejected the share pricing, and the application to list was withdrawn
without a prospectus for the heavily indebted mining company ever appearing in public,
according to Deripaska basher John Helmer on his website 'Dances with bears'.
"This valuation looks a little bit expensive compared with its emerging-markets hydrogenerator peers," said Alexander Seleznev, an analyst at UralSib. "An IPO would
improve transparency because it would show the detailed accounts of both its main
assets, IrkutskEnergo and Krasnoyarsk Hydro Power Plant."
The sale would be the second by a company controlled by Deripaska in Hong Kong this
year. United Company RusAl, the world's largest aluminum producer, raised about $2.2
billion in January in the first IPO in China by a Russian company. It continues to trade
below its IPO price.
With that poor performance added to the struggles of Russian floats which are not
exposed to consumer spend so far this year, the chances of EuroSibEnergo's bid to list
going the same way as SMR appear viable. However, Deripaska could be tempted to
push it through at a lower price as he is currently trying to put together a bid to buy out
rival shareholder Interros from Norilsk.
EuroSibEnergo sells more than half its electricity to RusAl and is Russia's second-largest
hydropower producer after RusHydro. Deripaska owns EuroSibEnergo via the same EN+
Group holding company that holds his 48% stake in RusAl. EuroSibEnergo's profits
could be crimped by Deripaska's need to ensure cheap electricity for his aluminium
production line.
Evroset mobile phone retailer may sell 30 pct of shares in IPO on LSE in 2011
http://en.rian.ru/business/20101111/161287591.html
10:57 11/11/2010
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia' largest mobile phone and small
electronics retailer, Evroset, is preparing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to place 30
percent of its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2011, Vedomosti business
daily reported on Thursday.
The company will make a final decision on the IPO on November 20, the paper said.
Sources close to Evroset told Vedomosti that investment banks had preliminary valued
the company at $2.5-3 billion while Artyom Sitnikov, partner of Financial Consulting
Group, put it at $0.85-1.2 billion according to the number of the company's selling outlets
and financial results. However, investors could give a premium for the company's shares
during the IPO as Evroset will be the first Russian mobile phone retailer quoted on the
LSE, the paper said.
Proceeding from the lowest estimate of $0.85 billion and net of the company's debt, the
share package of Evroset co-owner Alexander Mamut, who holds 50.1% in the company,
could cost $260 million, the paper said.
A representative of VimpelCom, another Evroset shareholder with a 49.9% stake and one
of the country's top three mobile operators, told Vedomosti that the shareholders were
still discussing the IPO issue.
Vedomosti quoted its sources as saying that Mamut could sell part of his stake on the
stock exchange to make his holdings more liquid, while Mamut declined to comment.
Russian Technologies Corporation Eyes State's Stake in Apatit
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
Aton
November 11, 2010
State_owned Russian Technologies (RT) is interested in the government's stake in
Russian phosphate rock producer Apatit, Vedomosti reports today (11 Nov).
Russian Technologies first voiced its interest in the fertiliser industry last summer when it
approached Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and suggested creating a fertiliser
champion based on Silvinit, Sibur and TolyattiAzot.
We remind readers that the state is considering a number of options with respect to its
25% stake in Apatit's common shares - the stake is already included in its privatisation
plans for 2011_13. In addition, PhosAgro, which directly and through subsidiaries
controls 49% of Apatit's voting shares, wants the state's blocking stake. If successful,
PhosAgro would thus avoid the danger of finding a blocking shareholder in its core asset.
Bottom line
We view the news as neutral for Apatit. On the one hand, RT does not have sufficient
expertise in the fertiliser industry. On the other, we believe RT's attempt to gain a
blocking stake in Apatit might push PhosAgro into offering the state a favourable
valuation for Apatit to persuade the government to convert its holding into PhosAgro
shares. This may be followed by a single share swap for Apatit's minority shareholders
into PhosAgro. We note that if PhosAgro finds itself unable to exercise full control over
Apatit, the company's position as Russia's largest phosphate_based fertiliser producer
would be endangered.
RUSNANO and Plastic Logic Announce Agreement to Establish New Plastic
Electronics Production in Russia
http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text13579
Press release
November 10, 2010
Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies and Plastic Logic Inc. today announced they
have entered into an agreement to create Plastic Logic's second volume production
facility for its next-generation plastic electronic displays and establish a plastic
electronics industry in Russia. Under the terms of agreement RUSNANO intends to make
a significant investment in the company, which is the global leader in the emerging field
of plastic electronics, as part of a large-scale investment project.
"RUSNANO's investment will enable us to dramatically expand operations in support of
volume production of our next-generation products, and to continue to advance our
technology platform to deliver on our broader long-term vision"
Plastic Logic said it will continue to house its core R&D facility in Cambridge, England,
as well as maintain its commercial factory in Dresden, Germany and corporate
headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Plastic Logic has developed broad and deep intellectual property in plastic electronics.
Plastic electronics technology has many economic, manufacturing, form factor and
environmental benefits, and will ultimately replace traditional silicon semiconductor
glass-based display products in a variety of devices in the future. Plastic Logic's first
application of the technology makes possible an amazingly thin, lightweight, robust and
flexible active matrix display that is unmatched in the marketplace. The display is at the
core of Plastic Logic's first commercial consumer electronics product, a next-generation
electronic reader for business that is currently under development.
"The production facility for the next generation of plastic displays will become the first
step to establish the new branch of a electronics industry in Russia. By the time of the
launch, the Russian facility will be the world's most advanced fabrication plant in the
plastic electronics industry," said RUSNANO Managing Director Georgy Kolpachev.
Founded in 2000 by researchers from the Cambridge University Cavendish Laboratory in
the UK, Plastic Logic opened its first high-volume, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility
in Dresden, Germany in 2008, where it will continue with production of the company's
first commercial product.
"RUSNANO's investment will enable us to dramatically expand operations in support of
volume production of our next-generation products, and to continue to advance our
technology platform to deliver on our broader long-term vision," said Plastic Logic CEO
Richard Archuleta.
"As a global company, we evaluated multiple countries for our expansion efforts and
ultimately Russia offered the best strategic partnership opportunity," added Plastic
Logic's CFO Rik Thorbecke. "Russia provides access to an enormous talent pool of
scientists and engineers, and proximity to our European centers in Cambridge and
Dresden. We have been very impressed with the caliber of the RUSNANO organization
and, most importantly, its commitment to undertake the significant investment required to
build a world-class volume production center capable of producing hundreds of
thousands of units a month."
ABC opening Moscow office in major push
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=291358
Posted on » Thursday, November 11, 2010
MANAMA: Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) is opening a Moscow office on
November 25, making it the first Arab bank to have a presence in Russia.
The Moscow office is run by ABC International Bank, the UK-based subsidiary of the
Bahrain-based ABC Group.
The office aims to identify exporters and importers based in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
trading with the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and increase the group's
share of trade and other business flows with the Mena.
"ABC believes that Russia offers considerable opportunities as a result of its dynamic
economic development and historical relations with the Arab world," said ABC
president and chief executive Hassan Juma.
"We believe that this is the right time for our group to have a presence in Russia," he
added.
"Our new Moscow office is a great addition to our international network and a major
step in deepening our understanding of the Russian market and to assist local banks and
companies in doing business with the Mena," ABC International Bank chief executive
Nofal Barbar said.
The bank yesterday announced a net profit of $1.6 million for the nine months ending
September 30.
Net profit for the third quarter was $200,000 compared to a loss of $400,000 in the
second quarter.
Operating expenses of $1.5m were slightly lower than the previous quarter of $1.6m.
Operating profit before impairment provisions improved 5pc to reach $2.6m.
Impairment provision in the third quarter was $2.4m, compared to $2.9m in the previous
quarter.
Total operating income for the third quarter remained at the same level as the second
quarter of $4.1m.
Shareholders' equity stood at $181m, compared to $171.5m at the half year.
The bank's capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 23.3pc,
predominantly Tier 1, which totaled 23.1pc.
The bank's total assets declined to $1.24 billion from $1.29bn at June 30 mainly due to a
decline in Murabaha receivables and Ijara assets.
"Despite a further de-risking of the balance sheet, ABC Islamic Bank reported an
improvement in its operating profitability," said managing director Naveed Khan.
"The operating performance of the bank continues to show improvement from the
previous quarter despite higher provisioning required for an old collateral linked
exposure," he said.
"The capital base of the bank also remains strong with a Capital Adequacy Ratio greater
than 23 per cent," he added.
Russia enters Formula 1 as company takes ‘significant stake’ in Virgin team
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101111/161281966.html
03:05 11/11/2010
Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors has acquired a "significant stake" in
UK-based Virgin Racing to create a Russian Formula 1 team, Marussia's President
Nikolai Fomenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday.
“Now we can state with full certainty that we have our team in Formula 1,” said Nikolai
Fomenko, one of four co-owners of Marussia Motors. “Of course, it was not an easy
decision for us. I’m not entitled to disclose the contract value, but it’s big money, believe
me.”
The contract between Marussia Motors and Virgin Racing was signed in London on
November 6.
The deal is the second attempt to create a Russian national team in Formula 1. In 2005,
Midland group owned by Russian-born businessman Alex Shnaider attempted to create
an F1 team, but after the unsuccessful debut in 2006, Shnaider sold the team to Dutch car
manufacturer Spyker Cars NV.
The new team, which will be called Marussia Virgin Racing starting from 2011, will
honor all existing contracts of Virgin Racing, including those with drivers Timo Glock
and Lucas di Grassi, as well as with engine producer Cosworth.
The Russian company aims to make the team competitive in the coming years, after it
earned no points during this season.
“This will prove that Russian high technologies are not only in the military and space
industries, but also in the car making sector. And this will benefit the entire country,”
Fomenko said.
The official presentation of the next season’s race car, which is currently being built at
Virgin’s base in Britain, will be held in late January-early February in London. The car
will also be presented in Moscow.
“We are actively participating in the creation of a Marussia Virgin race car for the next
season and we have everything we need for that,” he said.
Fomenko also invited leading Russian companies to sign sponsorship contracts with the
Russian team.
“So far, the company has made no steps towards [potential] sponsors and has not sought
any help, though this may come in handy,” Fomenko said.
The announcement is the latest in a series of news, which demonstrates that the Russian
leadership is taking a growing interest in Formula 1, which along with FIFA World Cup
and the Olympic Games is in the top three of the world’s most popular sporting events.
Last month, Russia signed a multimillion dollar agreement with F1 to stage a Grand Prix
near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi between 2014 and 2020. On Sunday, Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tested his skill as a Formula 1 pilot, driving a race car for
several hours at a speed of 240 km/ h (150 miles per hour) on a special track in the
Leningrad Region in Russia's northwest.
This spring Russia’s first Formula 1 driver Vitaly Petrov made his debut competing for
the Renault F1 team.
Fomenko said that he would like to see Petrov, who is unlikely to have his contract with
Renault extended for the next season, as a Marussia Virgin Racing driver, but added that
it was too early to speak about that.
“Today I am unable to provide him with a competitive car. And he needs to continue his
career in a fast car. Just wait for one more season. Then everything will be clear,” he
said.
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
Russian carmaker to take over F1 team
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/00122716-ed00-11df-991200144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz14xaoENVI
By Roger Blitz in London
Published: November 11 2010 00:02 | Last updated: November 11 2010 00:02
Virgin Racing, the Formula One team backed by UK entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson,
is being taken over by a Russian sports car manufacturer, in a move highlighting the
country’s interest in the global reach of the sport.
Marussia, set up by former racing driver Nikolai Fomenko, is buying up most of the
stake bought less than a year ago by LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking
Group.
Virgin remains part-investor in the team. Virgin Racing is one of three new outfits in this
year’s F1 season and operates on a £40m ($64.4m) budget, which is one of the lowest of
the 13 teams on the grid. Marussia said it is becoming the majority shareholder of Virgin
Racing but declined to reveal the size of the stake or the amount it is paying.
The takeover comes a month after Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin signed a
seven-year deal with Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s commercial director, under which the
Black Sea resort of Sochi will join the Grand Prix circuit from 2014.
Andrey Cheglakov, a co-investor in Marussia, said: “We are showing to the world that
we are ready to participate in such a highly regarded event as F1.”
He added that Marussia would seek permission to combine its brand with Virgin in the
team name. “Virgin is a strong name worldwide and can get the attention of millions of
people, but by combining the brands we can expect to gain better recognition for the
team itself,” he said.
In a statement to be released on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, which on Sunday hosts the final
grand prix of the season, Sir Richard will say the deal “cements our place on the F1
grid”.
Virgin Racing was formed last December by Yorkshire-based Manor Grand Prix, Virgin
and Nick Wirth, an F1 technician. LDC is thought to have invested £10m in the team at
the time.
Announcing its investment last year, LDC said “the prospects of healthy profits and
return on investment are excellent”.
The three new teams – Virgin Racing, Hispania and Lotus – have struggled in their first
F1 season, failing to pick up a single point. Mr Ecclestone said last week that the
performances of the new teams were an embarrassment to the sport. LDC is retaining a
“significant shareholding” in Virgin Racing.
Marussia, set up by Mr Fomenko in 2007, became an official sponsor of Virgin Racing
in December. Mr Fomenko, who anchors Russian Top Gear, the TV programme, said F1
would be “a powerful marketing stage for our new company. We want want it to be a
symbol of pride, self-belief and inspiration for the people of Russia”.
Mr Cheglakov said that Marussia would compete with Ferrari, Aston Martin and
Porsche in the European sports car market and planned to sell 2,000 cars a year from
2013 or 2014, up to a fifth of which will be sold in Russia.
Additional reporting by Martin Arnold and James Allen in London
Fiat's Magneti Marelli expands in Russia
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JDA9O81.htm
MILAN
Fiat's auto parts supplier and subsidiary Magneti Marelli says it has opened a new plant
in Russia with the goal of becoming one of the region's major players.
The plant near the city of Ryazan, 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Moscow, will
make car rearlights and headlights, reaching a capacity of 2 million pieces annually for
automakers in Russia, including Autovaz, Gaz and Sollers as well as Renault,
Volkswagen and Ford.
It joins another Magneti Marelli lighting plant built nearby in 1995.
"Our goal is to become a leading player in the sector of automotive components in
Russia, the only market that is currently showing an upward trend in Europe and one of
the most important ones at the global level," CEO Eugenio Razelli said in a statement
Wednesday.
VTB Capital takes ECM title from Renaissance Capital
http://www.emergingmarkets.me/2010/11/vtb-capital-takes-ecm-title-from-renaissance-
capital/
November 11, 2010
By Ivan Anderzhanov
VTB Capital was named the leading equity bookrunner in November for Russia and the
CIS, outscoring Renaissance Capital, acccording to data providers Dealogic and
Thomson Reuters.
VTB took part in a total of 7 transactions so far this year, attracting an aggregate amount
of nearly $4.7bn for the clients, said Dealogic. The VTB Capital market share according
to Dealogic is 14.63% while Thomson Reuters put its at 18.5%.
This year, VTB Capital has participated in key ECM deals, including IPOs for Mail.ru,
О’Key, Russian Sea, Rusal, and second offerings for Synergia, LSR Group, rights issue
for Deutsche Bank and TMK convertible bond issue placement.
Moscow rival Renaissance Capital has traditionally been the leading underwriter for
equities in Russia and the CIS. VTB Capital, which is the leading underwriter for local
debt and Russian eurobonds, now holds the crowns for both DCM and ECM.
For the Record
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/for-the-record/422211.html
11 November 2010
RusAl is in talks with investors on a joint bid for Vladimir Potanin’s stake in Norilsk
Nickel, RIA-Novosti reported Wednesday, citing a source familiar with RusAl’s plans.
(Bloomberg)
Magneti Marelli, the auto-parts division of Fiat, aims to expand in Russia where it wants
to become “a leading player,” chief Eugenio Razelli said Wednesday, during the opening
of a lighting plant in Ryazan. (Bloomberg)
Yekaterinburg-based Urals Nickel, owned by Dmitry Baskov, plans to hold an initial
public offering and list its shares on MICEX, the company said Wednesday.
(Bloomberg)
Raspadskaya will resume output at its main mine by the end of the year, chief Gennady
Kozovoi said Wednesday, according to the Kemerovo regional administration.
(Bloomberg)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sojitz and China National Chemical plan to build a $1.06
billion chemical plant in Russia, Nikkei English News said Wednesday. (Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
Gazprom