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
Category Archives: News
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
Ruble stops sliding, edges up after Central Bank intervention
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Russian Central Bank last month carried through its first currency intervention since November 2012 in propping up the weakening ruble. {{{*}}} April’s sales of $663m and 45.05m euros had been the regulator’s biggest foreign currency sales since July last year, Russian business daily Vedomosti said. The intervention apparently helped somewhat –… Continue Reading
Houlihan Lokey appoints Head of Asia
Houlihan Lokey appointed David Timblick as managing director and head of Asia, including Houlihan Lokey’s Tokyo office. Timblick is based in Hong Kong and joins from Lazard Asia, where he has held a number of roles over the past 14 years. He recently served as head of Lazard’s Asia advisory practice, overseeing strategy, planning, and client coverage… Continue Reading
Sberbank brand launched in Croatia
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has launched its brand in Croatia by changing the name of its subsidiary in the Balkan country from Volksbank Croatia to Sberbank Croatia. Sberbank Croatia’s flagship branch in Zagreb offers the full range of financial services to both retail and corporate clients. By July the subsidiary will have branches in tourist… Continue Reading
Russia’s Alfa-Bank accused of “corporate raiding” plot in Ukraine
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Alfa-Bank has been accused by Crimean Vodka Company (CVC) of a “corporate raiding” plot to take hold of the liquor firm, one of Ukraine’s largest producers of spirits. {{{?}}} CVC’s British owner, Neil Smith (pictured), says Alfa-Bank subsidiaries Empire and Eutilia have been fighting for control of the spirits company since… Continue Reading
EBRD boosts renewable energy sector portfolio in Ukraine
The EBRD continues promoting and supporting renewable energy projects in Ukraine aimed at reducing the environmental impact of traditional power generation. Renewable energy is yet to establish itself as a major contributor to Ukraine’s energy security but it is starting to play a greater role in its sustainable energy supply. The latest renewable energy project… Continue Reading
Financing Sustainable Energy Investment for Bulgarian Business
Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a second line of credit under the Bulgarian Programme for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (BEERECL). This will allow Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) to expand financing for sustainable energy investment by private companies in Bulgaria. The EBRD loan of €7.5 million will be… Continue Reading
CapMan Russia Closes First €97M on Fund II, EBRD Commits Additional €20
CapMan Russia made a first close worth EUR97 mln on its newly established CapMan Fund II late March. Nearly 3 per cent of that investment has been made in-house – by the investment team at CapMan Russia and by CapMan Plc – while the remaining has come from 10 other new and existing Limited Partners. The fund will… Continue Reading
Wermuth Asset Management significantly outperforms Russian market
Wermuth Asset Management, a Russia-focused German family office, has announced that its quant funds have significantly outperformed a peer group of 50 in the Russian market over the past five years, and have continued to do so in 2013. Wermuth Leveraged Quant Eastern Europe Strategy Fund (WEELS+) has been the best-performing fund with returns of… Continue Reading
Microsoft, Sony to consider funding Russian high-tech startups
By Andrei Skvarsky. Microsoft and Sony are among companies which will examine bids from Russian startup companies looking for investment as part of an innovative technology promotion project by Geneva-based nonprofit organisation Tech Tour. There are also major Russian high-tech promoters on the list of potential investors approved by the organisers of the Third Russian… Continue Reading
Moscow refuses to refund Russians for money lost in Cyprus
The Russian government will not compensate Russian savers who have lost money in the Cyprus banking crisis but is likely to consider helping companies where the Russian state is a shareholder, the BBC cited Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as saying. A good chunk of the foreign money kept in Cypriot banks is… Continue Reading
Some 350 Russian firms seeking investment as part of European high-tech promo event
By Andrei Skvarsky. About 350 Russian companies specialising in innovative technology have applied for money from leading global investors as part of a promotion programme run by Tech Tour, a Geneva-based nonprofit organisation. The selection committee of this year’s Third Russian Tech Tour, to take place on April 23-26, will select 25 high-growth private firms… Continue Reading
RenCap says Bank of Georgia shows “robust” earnings
Moscow’s Renaissance Capital has released “cautiously optimistic” forecasts about Bank of Georgia, which has been through some rough times after last October’s parliamentary elections brought about a change of government and consequent political turmoil in the Caucasus country. {{{*}}} Bank of Georgia, “as a subset of Georgia itself, has been subject to volatility like no… Continue Reading
Investors won’t regret putting money into Polish IT – govt
By Andrei Skvarsky. Poland’s government has launched a promotion programme for the country’s booming information and communication technology sector and invites investors into the industry. {{{*}}} The European Union-funded IT/ICT Business Promotion Programme, launched by Poland’s Economy Ministry, aims to create new Polish brands and will be publicised through planned roadshows in Poland, Germany, Norway,… Continue Reading
RenCap: Russian economy almost at a standstill, recession looming
Moscow’s Renaissance Capital investment bank argues, citing preliminary statistics from the Russian Economics Ministry, that Russia’s economy has practically stopped growing and is in danger of recession. {{{*}}} Declining prices for commodities such as aluminium, tin, crude oil and copper and output contraction in key industries such as mining, pulp and paper, and electrical equipment,… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange launching T+2 deferred settlement scheme
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Moscow Exchange is launching on March 25 a T+2 settlement system, an arrangement where payment for securities that have been bought must be made no later than two business days after the transaction. {{{*}}} The exchange plans to simultaneously continue using its current T+0 immediate payment scheme until the end of… Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia’s Sedco launches Luxembourg platform for Islam-compliant investments
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sedco Capital, a Saudi Arabian asset manager, has launched a one-stop shop platform in Luxembourg for institutional investments compliant with Shariah {{{*}}}, the Islamic moral code and religious law. The Sedco Capital Global Funds platform offers access to seven investment funds with total assets under management exceeding $1bn. The funds accessible through… Continue Reading
EBRD loan to restore and modernise steel production in Croatia
The EBRD is supporting the efforts to restart production at the steel factory in Sisak in central Croatia. The location has a long history of steel operations and has been a major employer. The Sisak Ironworks have been acquired by the Italian company Danieli and their steel company ABS, currently embarking on a restructuring and… Continue Reading
Abris closes latest CEE fund on €450m
Abris has exceeded expectations to reach hard-cap for its Abris Capital Fund II {{{*}}} – despite no exits since the GP was founded in 2007. Abris Capital Partners has reached its hard-cap of €450m for a final close on its second fund targeting the CEE mid-market. A total of 21 investors came into the fund,… Continue Reading
RenCap appoints researchers for consumer-related sectors
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has added the coverage of Russian consumer-related sectors {{{*}}} to the duties of its analysts David Ferguson and Nick Robinson, who until now have been covering media, information technology and real estate sectors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Ferguson, who has been with RenCap for six years, has… Continue Reading
Sberbank launching residential real estate investment fund
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, is {{{*}}} launching a closed-end residential real estate mutual fund for non-qualified investors. The Sberbank Residential Real Estate fund, which would finance the construction of relatively inexpensive apartments in Moscow and its suburbs, is being set up by Sberbank Asset Management, a division that was part of Troika Dialog before the… Continue Reading
Re-launch of EmergingMarkets.me
{{{?}}}We are now ready to announce the re-launch of EmergingMarkets.me, an online financial news and analysis service for emerging markets professionals. We will continue to focus on investment banking, asset management, fund management, mergers and acquisitions, equity markets, debt markets, private equity, custody, trading, and technology. With the latest news, opinions and analysis, our readers… Continue Reading
Home Credit receives bids totalling $300m for Russian bonds
Home Credit, one of Europe’s leading retail lenders, has pulled off a highly successful securities project in Russia, {{{*}}} with a total of 9.4bn rubles ($300m) offered for bonds issued by its Russian subsidiary – more than three times their total par value. Sberbank CIB, the investment banking arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, Raiffeisenbank… Continue Reading
RDIF, VEB, France’s CDC sign private equity promotion deal
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and VEB development bank and France’s Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC), {{{*}}} all of which are state institutions, have signed an agreement to boost private equity investment in the two countries. The deal – a memorandum of understanding – was signed in Moscow on February 28… Continue Reading