By Andrei Skvarsky. VTB Group, Russia’s second-largest bank, announced on Tuesday that it was severing all its relations with Fitch Ratings because of the rating agency’s “continued lack of professionalism”. {{{?}}} The move followed Fitch’s lowering VTB’s issuer-default rating one level on January 10, which the bank argued was groundless, claiming the agency had had… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Moscow Exchange reports 24% trade volume increase for 2013
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has said its trading volumes grew 24% last year, reaching 46.6 trillion rubles ($1.4 trillion). {{{?}}} All of the exchange’s units – its trading floors for stocks, Russian depositary receipts (RDRs), corporate and government bonds and derivatives, and its forex and money markets – recorded volume increases, the bourse, which… Continue Reading
US Revere Capital Advisors sets up merchant banking group, makes hires
By Andrei Skvarsky. Revere Capital Advisors, a New York- and London-based financial services boutique, has set up a merchant banking group, Revere Merchant Capital (RMC), and made three senior hires for the new firm. {{{?}}} “RMC will lead and co-invest in equity and debt financings in connection with change of control, acquisition and expansion capital… Continue Reading
Moscow forum discusses high-tech investment
By Andrei Skvarsky. RVC, a Russian state-owned high-tech investment company, has helped organise an international forum last week that looked at ways of giving an impetus to Russia’s technology industries. {{{?}}} The role of corporate venture funds, high-tech investment vehicles set up by large corporations, was among issues raised at Moscow’s First Corporate Venture Summit,… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Tinkoff shares plummet 40%
By Andrei Skvarsky. Tinkoff Credit Systems stock plummeted 40% to $9 per share on Friday on news that Russia’s government is planning a law to restrict distant distribution of credit cards by banks. {{{?}}} It would then only be possible to obtain a card from a bank office. “This is only one of many initiatives… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange to change collateral requirement for derivatives market
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange plans a reform in its derivatives market in which the entire collateral would have to be in U.S. dollars instead of today’s requirement of 50% in dollars and 50% in Russian rubles. {{{?}}} “The change will simplify operations for foreign market participants and lower funding costs for Russian market participants,”… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange chosen as IPO floor by major footwear retailer
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange is soon going to host one more IPO, with major Russian footwear retailer Obuv Rossii planning to put one quarter of its stock on sale and expecting to raise between 1.5bn and 2bn rubles ($46m-$62m) thereby. {{{?}}} The planned sale would be run by a consortium led by Russian broker… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange chosen by NASDAQ-listed Qiwi as SPO co-host
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has a new feather in its cap now that Qiwi, a top-notch provider of electronic payment services in Russia and the CIS, opted for the bourse as one of the floors, along with NASDAQ, for trading its American depositary shares (ADSs) after a successful IPO in the United States. {{{?}}} Co-managed… Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley to co-manage Alrosa IPO
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
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