Category Archives: News

EBRD, Ukraine come up with anti-corruption plan

By Andrei Skvarsky. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Ukrainian government have agreed a short-term plan to set up a public-private working group and the office of business ombudsman in Ukraine to address the country’s vast-scale corruption. {{{*}}} Later on, the EBRD and Ukraine will be developing a comprehensive initiative to fight… Continue Reading

Wermuth reports deal, two senior appointments

By Andrei Skvarsky. The Green Gateway Fund, a 110m-euro investment fund run by Germany’s Wermuth Asset Management, has acquired a minority stake in The Mobility House (TMH), a Germany-based provider of charging equipment for electric vehicles. {{{*}}} Wermuth’s statement that reported the deal did not disclose the size of the stake. Wermuth, a firm with… Continue Reading

HSBC drawn into Magnitsky affair as Russian police demand info

By Andrei Skvarsky. HSBC has found itself drawn into the Magnitsky affair as Russian police are pressing its Moscow subsidiary to cough up information relating to Hermitage Capital and threatening to use force if the British bank’s Russian arm refuses to cooperate, Hermitage said. {{{*}}} Russia’s Interior Ministry wants HSBC’s Russian unit to provide wide-ranging… Continue Reading

Moscow Exchange IPO kicks off with $500m worth of stock floated

The Moscow Exchange is launching its initial public offering today, putting 15bn rubles’ (497.5m dollars’) worth of stock on sale on its own platform and having set the per-share price at 55 rubles ($1.83). {{{*}}} A statement from the exchange values the bourse at 126.9bn rubles ($4.2bn). VTB Capital, as stabilising manager of the IPO,… Continue Reading

SBERBANK COMMENT: Economic update – sluggish performance

By analysts, Sberbank Investment Research. Growth slowed at end 2012 not just in Russia but also in neighboring Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. In contrast to Russia, where slowing economic growth has been accompanied by softening consumption growth, the Kazakh, Belarusian and Ukrainian consumer markets remain overheated. {{{*}}} We see serious risk of economic contraction in… Continue Reading

EAST CAPITAL COMMENT: Chinese equities going from strength to strength

By Gustav Rhenman, Portfolio Manager, East Capital. The outlook for Chinese equities remains upbeat after they rallied  for the fifth month in a row. Among emerging markets, China stands out thanks to accelerating economic growth, rebounding industrial profits and fresh evidence that the country’s real estate market is not a bubble. {{{*}}} Since September 2012,… Continue Reading

EU legislators press Ashton over Magnitsky affair

By Andrei Skvarsky. One of the European Parliament’s political groups has pressed the European Commission to go ahead with sanctions against alleged Russian persecutors and killers of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky that the EU legislature recommended in October and December. {{{*}}} In an address to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the Alliance of… Continue Reading

RenCap hosting one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference

Moscow’s Renaissance Capital, seeing Africa as “a golden opportuunity for investors”, is hosting a three-day annual one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference in Lagos which opened on February 11. {{{*}}} “Against the current backdrop of global market instability, Africa remains a source of tremendous growth and opportunity”, RenCap said in a statement. The current fourth Pan-Africa Investor… Continue Reading

RenCap hires traders from Alfa-Bank, Aton

Russia’s Renaissance Capital has announced it has hired Dmitry Ryzhkov from Alfa-Bank as vice president and equity sales trader for Russia and the CIS and Yury Nefedov from Aton as associate and fixed income currencies and commodities (FICC) trader. {{{*}}} Ryzhkov worked as an equity sales trader at UniCredit Aton from 2006 to 2008 before… Continue Reading

VTB Capital sells bond worth $169.5m in Turkey

VTB Capital has sold a two-year bond in Turkey to a total of 300m Turkish lira ($169.5m). {{{*}}} Garanti Bank, one of Turkey’s biggest private lenders, organised the placement of the bond on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The bond, sold to qualified investors, had a semi-annual coupon of 3.89%, the investment arm of Russia’s VTB… Continue Reading

Ukraine’s stock market down 35% in 2012 – East Capital

Ukraine’s stock market was the world’s second worst performer after that of Cyprus last year, slumping by 35%, but can get a boost from a potential new loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to Stockholm-based asset manager East Capital. {{{*}}} Ukraine’s economy, where the main stock market players are mining, energy, engineering and financial… Continue Reading

Moscow Exchange gives CIS banks free access to currency market

By Andrei Skvarsky. The Moscow Exchange has given unrestricted access to its currency market to banks domiciled in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. {{{*}}} Banks in the four countries, which, together with Russia, are building a so-called Eurasian Economic Community, no longer need a Russian currency trade licence for access to the Moscow bourse’s currency… Continue Reading

Russia is leading growth in venture-capital funds raised

Russia has seen a venture investing boom in its high technology in the past six years, {{{*}}} The Wall Street Journal reports citing findings by Dow Jones VentureSource. As a result, the Russian venture capital sector now ranks Europe’s fourth largest investor in its own high technology industries, according to Dow. Reporting the latest Dow findings, The… Continue Reading

IFC supports fuel distribution infrastructure in Ukraine

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping provide an $85 million financing package to build a network of gas filling stations in eastern Ukraine, bolstering the infrastructure for petrochemicals distribution and expanding access to high-quality fuel services across the country. IFC will provide $30 million in debt financing to support the network,… Continue Reading

Europe Virgin Fund invests in pharmaceutical company Sperco Ukraine

Europe Virgin Fund L.P. (‘EVF’), a private equity fund sponsored by Dragon Capital, has completed formation of a 50/50 joint venture {{{*}}} with Ucrafarma S.A., a Spanish pharmaceutical company. The partners have united their forces in Lux PHARMA Participations SA, a Luxembourg-based holding company, with Ucrafarma transferring various pharmaceutical assets including its 95% stake in… Continue Reading

SBERBANK the world’s 13th most valuable brand – Brand Finance

By Andrei Skvarsky. {{{?}}} Sberbank’s brand value has earned Russia’s biggest lender 13th place in this year’s Top 500 Banking Brands ranking compiled by Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy. The 500-name league table values Sberbank’s brand at $14.16bn compared with the valuation of $10.77bn on the 2012 list, where the Moscow-based firm was… Continue Reading

Ukraine: Mind the Gap

By Conal Campbell of www.Growth-Communications.com Ukraine has again made the news in recent weeks with a high-profile deal being signed at Davos with Shell, touted as being valued at as much as $10 bn. {{{*}}} The 50-year production sharing agreement to explore the Yuzivska shale gas field in eastern Ukraine follows other deals with Western majors such as… Continue Reading

Tatarstan’s Innopolis to receive $670 million in investments

{{{?:0}}} The Republic of Tatarstan is confirming its commitment to innovation with plans to invest heavily over the next two years in the engineering and transport infrastructure of Innopolis, an “innovation city” under completion near the capital Kazan. Tatarstan will put up a significant part of the total investment, which has been estimated at 20… Continue Reading

Russia's MDM parts company with deputy CEO

{{{?:0}}} MDM Bank, one of Russia’s largest private lenders, has parted company with its deputy chief executive Nikita Riauzov. Riauzov is going to take a few weeks to choose a new job, according to the Finparty.ru website. He was head of corporate and investment banking at MDM for nearly eight years before being promoted to… Continue Reading

EBRD loans to HEINEKEN brewery in Belarus

{{{?:0}}} European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing EUR 5 million in funding for the Belarus operations of the HEINEKEN group – one of the Europe’s largest beer producer. The loan will be used mainly to support the company’s efforts to promote the production of high-quality barley by local farmers and make a… Continue Reading

Hermitage says Estonian banks involved in Magnitsky affair

{{{?:0}}} By Andrei Skvarsky. Hermitage Capital said, citing an Estonian prosecutor, that a $10m chunk of the $230m that Hermitage lawyer Sergei Magnitsky accused Russian officials of stealing from the state passed through Estonian banks in being transferred from Russia. Ten Estonian firms were involved in the alleged transfers, prosecutor Piret Paukstys said, according to… Continue Reading