Feb. 3 – Russia is to become Europe’s second largest retail market with sales in 2011 amounting to US$621 billion, according to Euromonitor International, and may become the largest market in Europe by 2013-2014.
Retail sales in Russia rose 9.5 percent year-on-year in December, compared to 2.6 percent growth in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »
Feb. 1 – Singapore-based commodity trading group Olam International will invest a record-breaking US$400 million in Russia over the next five years, in a joint venture with its new partner Russian dairy firm Rusmolco LLC.
The decision was announced after the two companies signed a partnership agreement on Monday for the large scale development of dairy and grain farming in the Penza region of Russia, where Rusmolco has nine dairy facilities.
“Russia is one of the most attractive markets for dairy farming today,” the Singapore-based company said. It cited large supply shortages and Russia’s status as the “lowest-cost producer of grain today” as the rationale behind its investment. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 30 – Low inflation looks to stay in Russia until at least May, VTB Capital analysts wrote in a note last week.
“Inflation is likely to stay low until at least May, before rebounding in the second half of 2012,” Alexander Zabotkin from VTB Capital wrote in a note published on the firm’s web site.
Earlier this month, Russia’s Central Bank and the Ministry for Economic Development predicted that inflation in 2012 will not exceed 6 percent. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund expects it will reach 6.4 percent this year, IMF representative for Russia Odd Per Brekk said last Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 23 – Central Bank Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said on Thursday that the net capital outflows that plagued Russia in 2011 and weighed on the ruble are continuing in January, but the country may experience net inflows during 2012.
“We can see that outflows are continuing, because we have had to conduct sales of foreign currency this month,” Ulyukayev said at a Moscow economic conference.
Russia’s central bank has sold some US$600 million to support the ruble since the start of the year, Ulyukayev said earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 19 – A lobby group named the National Payment Council has been established by Visa and MasterCard, together with Russian payment services provider Zolotaya Korona, on Wednesday.
The main reason for the decision of the payment systems to create a lobby is the tightening of the domestic card market regulation by implementation of “The Law on the National Payment System.”
“Visa and MasterCard both worked closely with the government and put much effort into creating the National Payment System bill that President Dmitry Medvedev signed last June,” MasterCard Russia Chief Ilya Ryaby said. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 18 – Russia saw 15 new private equity funds established last year, but very few newly established and existing funds succeeded in attracting institutional investors, Financial Consulting Group (FCG) says in its report “Private Equity Market in 2011.”
The non-food retail sector – clothing retail, children’s clothing and toys, household appliances, and media retail (movies, music, etc.) – was at the center of attention for private equity funds last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 16 – Russia-focused equity funds attracted US$43 million of inflows in the week to January, 11, equaling about 0.4 percent of the total amount under management, UralSib Financial Corp. said in a report, citing EPFR Global Data.
“This is the first week of positive flows in the last eight,” UralSib analyst Slava Smolyaninov said in a report. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 14 – Financial crimes in Russia last year caused up to US$158 billion (5 trillion rubles) in illegal turnover on the Russian financial market, an amount equal to 10 percent of Russia’s gross domestic product, the Central Bank and Russian Interior Ministry have calculated.
According to their research, 56,700 crimes took place between January and November 2011 that impacted the financial and credit industries of Russia. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 12 – Former Kremlin Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov, who was removed late December from the presidential administration and appointed deputy prime minister, was given responsibility for social policy on Wednesday in what was seen as a step down.
He was given authority over healthcare, education, housing, demographics, tourism, religion and other social issues, according to a document posted on the cabinet’s website: www.government.ru.
Such social issues are often seen as being of secondary importance in Russia, where the most powerful politicians are usually in charge of security, finance or large industries. Read the rest of this entry »
By Marina Romanova
Sino-Russian series of bad dates
Chinese-American international energy consultant Edward Chow once said that the Russian-Chinese energy relationship isn’t a marriage, but rather “a series of bad dates.” As far as their energy relationship goes – also keeping in mind the two rather extreme types of relationship of ‘honeymoon’ (1950s) and ‘divorce’ (1960s and 1970s) between Beijing and Moscow – the whole Sino-Russian strategic partner can be described with this kind of metaphor.
Chinese businessmen and bureaucrats are playing a part in almost every Russian investment round-table and economic forum. And it wouldn’t be too much to say that almost every presentation by Chinese participants contains some words about Russia’s “investment unattractiveness” as one of the main reasons not to invest in the Russian economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Dezan Shira & Associates provide a range of services for companies looking to undertake foreign direct investment into Russia and Asia. These include corporate establishment, accounting, tax, payroll, audit and due diligence. To learn more about our practice, and our partner firm in Moscow and St.Petersburg, please contact us at russia@dezshira.com. Download our corporate brochure or visit at us www.dezshira.com.
