New Amendments to Russian Pharmaceutical Market

Feb. 14 – New amendments arranged by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) may release overseas pharmaceuticals backed by suitable foreign trials from re-examination in Russia.

The FAS also suggests calling off a five-year validity of drug registration certificates, Head of the Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade of FAS Timofey Nizhegorodtsev said at the sidelines of the conference “Pharmaceutical Business in Russia: Times of Change.” FAS amendments were following the watch dog’s inspection of the drug registration procedure of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Commercial Service Sending More Trade Officers to Russia

Feb. 13 – A trade desk may appear in the U.S. consulate at Yekaterinburg as part of an effort by the U.S. Commercial Service to help American companies conduct more business in Russia. The expansion of commercial sections at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and consulate in St. Petersburg are also expected.

The embassy changes will aid the U.S. Commercial Service’s drive to double exports to US$3.14 trillion by 2015 from US$1.57 trillion in 2009, according to the department. Read the rest of this entry »

Talks Concerning Russian Pipeline through Korean Peninsula to Continue

Feb. 7 – North Korea’s new leadership supports an agreement on the proposed extension of a Russian pipeline into North and South Korea.

Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s recently appointed 29-year-old “supreme leader of the party, state and army” is looking favorably to gas pipeline construction from Russia that would run across the Korean Peninsula, Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Valery Sukhinin told reporters last Friday.

“Talks between Russia’s state-run Gazprom and the oil industry ministry from the North Korean side are taking place,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

Russian Gold Production Increases, but Fails to Meet Expectations

Feb. 6 – Russian gold production rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in 2011 to 209 metric tons, but below an earlier forecast, data published on Wednesday by the Gold Industrialists’ Union industry lobby showed.

The union expected Russia to produce 211 tons of gold last year – up from 202 tons in 2010 – of which 185 tons was expected to be mined.

Despite missing expectations, Russia, whose reserves are second only to South Africa’s, managed to return to positive growth after annual output declined by 1.4 percent in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Singaporean Firm First Foreign Investor in Russian Milk Production

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 »

Russian Private Equity Market Grows in 2011

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 »

Sino-Russian ‘Bad Dates’ and Chinese Relations with ‘Abandonment Child’ of Moscow

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 »

Toyota Corp. to Open Dealerships in Far East Russia by Next Summer

Dec. 23 – Toyota Motor Corp. plans to open new authorized dealer’s centers in the Far East Russian cities of Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Nakhodka by summer of 2012, President of Toyota Motors Russia Takeshi Isogaya said in a statement released to the press.

Dealer’s centers would be established in concentrated areas within the cities already receiving Japanese investment. Read the rest of this entry »

Moscow to Cut Gas Price for Minsk, Offer US$10 Billion in Loans

Nov. 29 – Minsk received everything it asked for from Moscow, including a reduced price for gas, a lucrative contract on its transit, and US$2.5 billion for a 50 percent stake in the unprofitable state-run Beltransgaz. Furthermore, Russia will lend Minsk US$10 billion to build a nuclear plant, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Belarus would pay US$164 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas in the first three months of 2012, a discount of more than 40 percent on the price it paid Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom in the third quarter of 2011. The average price for 2012 was set at US$165.6. Read the rest of this entry »

Russian Phosagro to Discount Phosphate Fertilizers for Indian Buyers

Nov. 28 – Russian fertilizer group Phosagro agreed to cut current contract prices for India Potash Ltd. (IPL) and Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) after a drop in the value of the rupee caused local prices to rise sharply.

In return, the Russian firm said in a statement, the two key Indian buyers committed to buying additional volumes of phosphate fertilizers, with Phosagro holding a seller’s option over those supplies. Read the rest of this entry »

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