Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Russia’s VTB Capital and Renaissance Capital will co-manage a planned IPO announced by Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s main diamond producer, on Wednesday. Alrosa will offer a 16% stake for sale on Moscow Exchange, the state-controlled company, which produces 94% of Russia’s diamonds, said in a statement. Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
EXCLUSIVE: Accuity launches bespoke PEP screening software for Russian market
By Andrei Skvarsky. Business data provider Accuity, part of Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier, is launching a unique risk assessment tool tailored for the Russian banking sector – a database to enable banks to screen potential customers from among politically exposed persons (PEPs) more efficiently than its predecessors. {{{?}}} The database, whose main purpose is to… Continue Reading
Citi, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley to offer DMA to Moscow Exchange
By Andrei Skvarsky. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are going to begin to offer their clients direct market access (DMA) to trade in Russian securities on Moscow Exchange this month. Two other major global banks are expected to follow suit later this year, Russia’s largest trading platform for equities, bonds, derivatives and currencies said… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Russian broker BCS wins No. 1 spot in Moscow Exchange’s forex trade
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian prime broker BCS claimed the number one spot in ruble trading on Moscow Exchange’s foreign currency market last month. {{{?}}} This was the first time the Moscow-based firm with an international outlet in London made it to the top rung on the bourse’s ruble trading floor, Luis Saenz, the brokerage’s head… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Russian IT outsourcing provider MAYKOR
The EBRD has joined forces with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the CapMan Russia II Fund, a private equity fund in which the Bank is an investor, to support MAYKOR, the leading Russian IT outsourcing and service provider. The three partners will invest up to USD 100 million in a series of stages… Continue Reading
New Appointments for Otkritie Bank’s Management
Otkritie Bank has appointed Chairman of the Managing Board, following the approval by the Bank’s Board of Directors and the Bank of Russia. In his new capacity, Evgeny Dankevich will be in charge of the Bank’s strategic development and general management. Evgeny will resign as Otkritie Bank’s President and Board of Directors Chairman, while remaining on Otkritie… Continue Reading
Hong Kong becomes strengthened hub for East Capital Asia team
East Capital is to concentrate its Asian operations in Hong Kong, bringing together a strong team led by Karine Hirn, Partner and Co-Founder of East Capital. East Capital first established its presence in the region in Hong Kong in 2006, and in 2010 opened a second office in Shanghai. East Capital’s Asia team investing in… Continue Reading
Chinese Investors Target London Real Estate
Asian markets with similar cultural backgrounds such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are among countries being targeted by Chinese insurance funds that have more than US$14 billion available for overseas real estate investment, according to the latest research report from global property adviser CBRE. {{{?}}} The prime targets are high transparency markets including… Continue Reading
The Appeal of the Emerging Markets in the Current Economy
As a financial market trader, it is important to understand that the discipline requires a certain amount of determinism. There are underlying laws that govern financial market change, and these must be deciphered and clearly understood if people are to achieve their dreams of profitability. Take the emerging markets, for example, which have typically outperformed… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Turkey's first infrastructure bond
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting Turkey’s first ever infrastructure bond with a US$79.5 million participation in a US$ 450 million Eurobond, launched by Mersin International Port (MIP), the private operator of the port of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast in southern Turkey. The debut bond will be used for refinancing an… Continue Reading
EBRD provides €190 ml loan for wood processor Krasnospan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed two separate long-term loans, which will provide up to €190 million for the construction by Kronospan – a privately held global leader in the wood-based panels market – of new production facilities in Russia and Belarus. Both plants are designed to use low quality wood… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange's list of firms eligible for T+2 trade more than trebled
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has more than trebled the list of companies eligible to trade their shares under the T+2 settlement scheme, an arrangement where payment must be made within two business days of a transaction. The list went up to 50 from 15 as of Monday as part of a process in which… Continue Reading
Sberbank abolishes commissions for ATM use in Turkey, Croatia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Sberbank has made cash withdrawals from its ATMs in Croatia and from those of its subsidiary Denizbank in Turkey commission-free for holders of Sberbank debit cards. There will be zero commission for holders of Visa Classic, MasterCard Standard, Visa Gold, MasterCard Gold, Visa Platinum and MasterCard Platinum cards if they use ATMs… Continue Reading
Sberbank takes over control of Citi’s Turkish retail business
By Andrei Skvarsky. Denizbank, the Turkish subsidiary of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has completed the acquisition of Citibank’s consumer banking business in Turkey. Under an agreement effective from July 1 and first announced in April, Denizbank, which is one of Turkey’s largest banks, is taking over a clientele of more than 600,000, assets of 1.2bn… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Russia’s BCS gets UK regulatory go-ahead for business, plans hires
By Andrei Skvarsky. The London-based arm of Russian broker BCS has received British regulatory authorisation for brokerage business and plans a series of key hires for the next four to six weeks. The authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to deal with and advise on investments and hold client assets marks the official launch… Continue Reading
BrokerCreditService gets to top spot in Moscow bourse derivatives trade
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s BrokerCreditService (BCS) has taken the number one spot by derivatives trading volumes at Moscow Exchange for May, pushing rival Moscow broker Otkritie down to second place. BCS, which set up an office in London from scratch less than a year ago, posted a turnover of 1.82trln rubles ($57bn) in the bourse’s… Continue Reading
BankersAccuity launches database on Russian politically exposed persons
By Andrei Skvarsky. BankersAccuity, a company setting global standards for payment efficiency and offering compliance solutions, is launching the first politically exposed person (PEP) database for the Russian market in a bid to prevent fraud, money laundering and bribery. {{{?}}} The database contains data on individuals who are part of the executive, legislative or judicial… Continue Reading
Millions of euro of Western support and assistance risk being wasted unless the Ukrainian government will start being active in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors
“Ukraine is stumbling forward not being able to drop opportunity fully, yet” said Dave Young, Chairman of the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency as closing remark of the 4th European-Ukrainian Energy Day “Ukraine’s Energy Market: Steps Forward or Lost Opportunity?” {{{?}}} Over 200 stakeholder from the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, among which representatives from international state institutions, diplomatic… Continue Reading
EBRD channels €52.1 to major Ukrainian developer
The EBRD is organising a financing package of up to €52.1 million to a major domestic retailer, Multi Veste Ukraine, for the construction and development of an international quality, inner-city retail centre. Up to €30 million of the total amount will be syndicated to Unicredit Bank. {{{*}}} The project represents a substantial investment into the… Continue Reading
Myanmar Unveils $500 Million Tourism Plan
The Government of Myanmar, alongside the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Norway, today unveiled a Tourism Master Plan which outlines 38 development projects valued at nearly a half billion dollars that will help increase Myanmar’s tourism competitiveness, protect environmentally important areas, and safeguard ethnic communities. “This master plan outlines a path to… Continue Reading
RVC co-creates Russian war industry’s first civilian high tech-focused fund
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s state-owned RVC fund of funds for high-tech promotion and defence firm Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau (RPKB) have set up what is the Russian military industry’s first-ever venture fund to invest in civilian high-tech projects. The Defence Industry Civilian Technologies fund will have 1bn rubles ($31m) under management and will be managed… Continue Reading
Mail.Ru Group Invests $1.5 Million in Visual Search Company, Cortica Ltd.
Mail.Ru Group invested in Israeli-based Cortica Ltd. Cortica is the pioneer of a new approach to computer-driven understanding of images and videos through its unique and proprietary Image2Text™ technology. Mail.Ru Group is investing $1.5 million in Cortica in order to support and access its Image2Text™ technology. This investment is a part of the larger round… Continue Reading
Saudi Shariah-compliant Sedco to follow UN-suggested investment guidelines
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sedco, a Saudi Shariah-compliant private wealth manager, has pledged to follow environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles laid down by United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), a set of voluntary guidelines on ESG issues. Sedco Capital US Equities Fundamental Indexing Fund and Sedco Capital Global Higher Dividend Yield Fund have become the first… Continue Reading
Hermitage’s Browder off wanted list as Interpol refuses to play ball with Russia
Hermitage Capital chief executive Bill Browder has come off the international wanted list as Interpol refused to help Russia with the “predominantly political” prosecution of the ex-colleague of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. “The CCF studied a complaint brought before it by Mr Browder and concluded that the case was of a predominantly political nature and recommended that… Continue Reading
Russia’s major RVC high-tech fund co-launches new contest for IT startups
By Andrei Skvarsky. RVC, a major Russian state-owned 30bn-ruble ($100m) fund of funds for high-tech promotion, is co-launching an “accelerator competition” for information technology startups. Between 60 and 70 firms will be involved in what will be Russia’s first contest of its kind and part of the annual Business Information Technologies (BIT) competition, which has… Continue Reading
Unicorn Capital PE fund raises $100m since 2012
By Andrei Skvarsky. Unicorn Capital Partners, an emerging markets-focused private equity fund set up last year, has carried out the first phase of its capitalisation plan by raising $100m. Unicorn, which is based in Vienna and has a target size of $500m, seeks to invest in small and medium enterprises and middle-market companies in sectors… Continue Reading
Biofuel to heat Russia’s unelectrified railroads
Russian Railways, the national rail operator, has been increasingly using biofuel to heat railroad cars at unelectrified sections of Russian railroads, Bellona.ru reports. Trains are reportedly equipped with about 300 boilers that use biofuel pellets, and about 6,000 tons of biofuel is consumed each year. Specifically, biofuel pellets are used at railroad sections in the Moscow,… Continue Reading
Sberbank cuts corporate loan rates to get more clients
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has cut interest rates for corporate loans by between 04% and 1.4% per year as from Wednesday. “We believe that this will have a very positive effect on the market,” a statement released by Sberbank on Thursday quoted the bank’s deputy chief executive Andrei Donskikh as saying. “We… Continue Reading
Jeffrey Fox Joins Palmer Square Capital Management
Palmer Square Capital Management announced that Jeffrey Fox has joined the team as executive director. Reporting to Angie Long, Palmer Square’s chief investment officer, Fox’s primary focus will be on managing the analytics, trading and modeling behind the firm’s structured credit and CLO platform. He will also play a key role in new product development and working with… Continue Reading