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
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
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
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
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
By Andrei Skvarsky. September’s unexpectedly big interest rate cut by the Indian central bank obviously aims to boost economic growth but is likely to spur the current outflow of capital from the country, intelligence company CEIC Data argues. Continue Reading
Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital, citing sources including Iranian commentators and business people, says Iran’s banking looks more like an emerging market than a frontier market sector in terms of penetration of services. Continue Reading
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
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
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
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai-based real estate portal Bayut.com says the city’s property market “continued its price correction” in August, eliminating “all fears of another boom and bust cycle” and becoming the United Arab Emirates’ “best market” for mid- to long-term real estate investment. Continue Reading
“The stock market is a device for transferring wealth from the impatient to the patient” – Warren Buffet In September 2015, the AFC Asia Frontier Fund returned -1.4%, outperforming the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Index (-7.5%), the MSCI World Index (-3.9%), and the MSCI Frontier Index (-2.6%), which all dropped significantly. The year to date… Continue Reading
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
By Andrei Skvarsky. The economies of emerging market countries are largely driven by their rapidly growing middle classes, whose relative and increasing affluence boosts demand and hence spurs production and job creation, says online real estate trader Lamudi. Continue Reading
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
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
In August 2015, the AFC Asia Frontier Fund lost -1.4%, outperforming the MSCI Frontier Asia Index (-8.1%), the MSCI World Index (-6.8%) and the MSCI Frontier Index (-5.8%), which all dropped significantly. The year to date performance of the AFC Asia Frontier Fund A-shares stands now at +0.7% versus the MSCI Frontier Asia Index which is down… Continue Reading
By Andrei Skvarsky. There is “an abundance of affordable luxury real estate on offer”, says Paul Philipp Hermann, co-founder and managing director of global online real estate trader Lamudi. Continue Reading
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
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
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
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investors shouldn’t neglect financial centres in emerging markets, some of which, though little known, have excellent prospects, according to online real estate dealer Lamudi, which does business in 34 emerging- and frontier-market countries. Continue Reading
The RTS Index, one of Moscow Exchange’s two main stock market benchmarks, celebrates its 20th birthday on September 1. Continue Reading
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
By Andrei Skvarsky. Business-to-business (B2B) deals are a fast-growing market, and B2B company Uppler, set up by three young Frenchmen in Tel Aviv a year ago has been able to extend its multi-industry business to more than 150 countries. The entire personnel of the dot-com firm are about a dozen people one of whom works… Continue Reading
The article has been contributed by Dubai-based real estate portal Bayut.com. Dubai’s lucrative real estate market is a haven for thousands of real estate agents who are aiming to help customers make a worthwhile investment, while saving a “slice of the cake” for themselves. Continue Reading
By Andrei Skvarsky. Online real estate dealer Lamudi says that, unlike their overpopulated counterparts in the industrialised world, megacities in emerging market countries are still on the rise and offer a gamut of opportunities for investment and other business activities. Continue Reading
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai-based audit firm and business consultancy Morison Menon has for the second consecutive year been named as a top brand by a highly reputed international branding arbitration group. Continue Reading
In July 2015, the AFC Asia Frontier Fund gained +1.1%, underperforming the MSCI Frontier Asia Index (+4.3%) and the MSCI World Index (+1.7%) and outperforming the MSCI Frontier Index (-3.1%). The year to date performance of the AFC Asia Frontier Fund A-shares stands now at +2.1% versus the MSCI Frontier Asia Index which is up… Continue Reading
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