By Andrei Skvarsky. Evgeny Gavrilenkov, chief economist at Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, denies that Russia’s economy hinges on oil, taking issue with a common view among economists worldwide. Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Russia
Deutsche Boerse analysts: Russia business sentiment at record low
By Andrei Skvarsky. Monthly surveys by Deutsche Boerse analysts suggest that in November Russian companies had much gloomier feelings about the general business conditions in Russia than for a long time before. Continue Reading
Lombard Odier: Russia may be past its worst but recovery would still be hard
By Andrei Skvarsky. According to analysts at Swiss bank Lombard Odier, the Russian economy is likely to be past its worst but remains beset by problems too serious to make smooth recovery possible. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators: Consumer sentiment in Russia bleakest since 2013
By Andrei Skvarsky. Monthly surveys by MNI Indicators, an intelligence subsidiary of Deutsche Boerse, suggest that consumer sentiment in Russia went down for the second consecutive month in October and overall hit its lowest mark that month for the past two and half years. Continue Reading
RenCap hires senior sales trader from BNP Paribas for Johannesburg team
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital, a Russian investment bank focusing on emerging and frontier markets, has made an addition to its South African team by hiring Jon Oosthuyse from BNP Paribas as director/senior sales trader. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Times rough in Russia but DIXY retailer remains a success story
Interview with DIXY CEO Ilya Yakubson. In the rugged economic landscape of today’s Russia it’s not easy for any company to even survive, least of all to do booming business. Yet DIXY, one of Russia’s oldest and biggest food retailers, is doing quite well, having grown by 26% last year. Set up in 1992, DIXY… Continue Reading
Russia’s Promsvyazbank sets up IT development firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. One of Russia’s biggest private banks, Promsvyazbank, has set up a company to develop software that would primarily be used by the lender itself but might also be offered for sale to other firms. Continue Reading
Big Russian companies heading for Shanghai to discuss investment in Russia
Major Russian companies such as Gazprombank, the country’s third-largest lender, and development bank VEB are getting together at a forum in Shanghai on November 6 organised by Moscow Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) to discuss investment opportunities in Russia. Continue Reading
Russian businesses’ spirits sinking again – MNI Indicators
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian companies’ roller coaster-like sentiment about the general business environment in their country edged down again in October after bouncing back somewhat in September and August, according to surveys by MNI Indicators, part of the Deutsche Boerse group. Continue Reading
Russian Reserve Fund may be empty by end of 2016 – finance minister
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Reserve Fund, a sovereign fund for plugging budget deficits, may go empty by the end of 2016 if the global oil price and the value of the ruble stay at their current levels, media cited Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying. Continue Reading
Putin: German businesses have ‘wise’ strategy for Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian President Vladimir Putin has credited German companies with a “balanced and wise” attitude to doing business in Russia and with investing in key Russian industries. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators: Russian consumers gloomier in September than in August
By Andrei Skvarsky. Monthly polls by intelligence company MNI Indicators, part of the Deutsche Boerse group, suggest that in September Russian consumers had the greatest pessimism about the current economic situation in their country since the firm launched its surveys in March 2013. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators poll: Russian companies slightly more upbeat in September
By Andrei Skvarsky. A monthly survey by Deutsche Boerse-owned think tank MNI Indicators suggests that in September Russian companies were a little more optimistic about the current business environment in their country despite the China-led global equity and commodity rout of the previous month. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange boosts dividend payout floor to 55% of net profit
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has announced that, from this year onwards, it will allocate a minimum of 55% of its net profit as calculated under international financial reporting standards for dividend payouts to its shareholders. Continue Reading
GUEST COMMENT: Russian credit decoupling, geopolitics
By Luis Saenz,* Head, Equity Sales & Trading, Managing Director, BCS Financial Group, Russia. In the last few months we have seen a decoupling of Russian credit from the Ruble. We find this intriguing since currency and credit in Russia has moved in lockstep for quite a while. Not a huge surprise since the underlying… Continue Reading
Russian consumers more upbeat in August but optimism fragile – MNI Indicators
By Andrei Skvarsky. The average Russian consumer felt slightly more upbeat in August than in July, Deutsche Boerse-owned intelligence company MNI Indicators said with the reservation that the alleged uptick was “barely off the lows witnessed in March” and warning it might be short-lived. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators: Russian companies a bit happier but loans harder to get
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian companies were slightly more upbeat about the overall business environment in their country in August than they had been in July despite the plunge in oil prices in recent months, according to surveys by Deutsche Boerse-owned intelligence company MNI Indicators. Continue Reading
Sberbank, Uber ride-hailing app consider co-designing payment technology
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, and ride-hailing app service Uber have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore ways of co-developing payment technology. Continue Reading
Sberbank, Sakhalin govt sign deal on online fish sales
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, and the government of the country’s Sakhalin island have signed a deal to set up a fish exchange for declared purposes such as replacement of nearly all fish imports in the Russian market with Russian-caught fish. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange’s RTS Index marks 20th birthday
The RTS Index, one of Moscow Exchange’s two main stock market benchmarks, celebrates its 20th birthday on September 1. Continue Reading
Antal Russia: Russia-based expats having financial problems
By Andrei Skvarsky. Western expats have been leaving Russia in droves since the Ukrainian crisis erupted and economic woes began to beset the country, and a survey by a headhunter suggests that those who stay are on the whole less than affluent. Continue Reading
Consumer sentiment in Russia falls again – Deutsche Boerse intel arm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sentiment among Russian consumers fell sharply in July after an apparent tentative upward trend during in the previous couple of months, according to the findings of monthly surveys by a Deutsche Boerse intelligence subsidiary. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange reports net profit rise of 72.8%
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange said that its earnings boomed in the second quarter of 2015, and that this included a year-on-year net profit increase of 72.8%. Continue Reading
Sberbank, Tinkoff among 1st-round winners of Global Finance digital banking contest
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and online retail bank Tinkoff were among the first-round winners in the 2015 World’s Best Digital Banks competition held annually by Global Finance, the famous New York-based monthly. Continue Reading
Russia’s RenCap hires James Friel from Rothschild to run global investment banking
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital, a key Russian privately-owned investment bank, has hired James Friel from global financial consultancy Rothschild as global head of investment banking with effect from September. Continue Reading
RenCap expects Russian inflation to slow, Kazakh money to plunge
Renaissance Capital, a Russian top-tier privately-owned investment bank, has forecast that inflation will decline in Russia but will rise in Georgia and Kazakhstan in the near term, and that the Kazakh currency will plunge by nearly one third by the end of September. Continue Reading
Baring Vostok lead investor in $40m funding for Russian car broker
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Baring Vostok private equity firm was the biggest investor in a recent new round of funding for CarPrice in which $40m was raised for the Russian online used-car broker. Continue Reading
New Russian fund to invest $2m in B2B solutions in 2015
By Andrei Skvarsky. Two Russian entrepreneurs have launched a venture fund that plans to invest $2m before the end of 2015 in up to five projects to develop solutions for business-to-business (B2B) transactions, according to international information company East-West Digital News (EWDN). Continue Reading
Russian central bank cuts key rate to 11%, says economy may cool off
Russia’s central bank on July 31 cut its key interest rate to 11% from 11.5%, arguing that economic cooling is a greater risk than inflation. Continue Reading