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
Tag Archives: Russia
Sberbank CIB hires Credit Suisse banker as head of energy
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CIB, the investment unit of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has reported one more in a recent string of senior appointments, hiring Igor Ukrasin from Credit Suisse as co-head of sector investment banking and head of energy. Ukrasin, who takes up his new job on May 14, spent 15 years at Credit… Continue Reading
iTech Capital invested in Garpun
Russian iTech Capital has invested US$ 3.5 mln in a solution for professional online ad management. Russian ad tech startup Garpun which developed a box solution to provide digital agencies and corporate advertisers with a full set of tools for professional online ad management, has raised $3,5 million in its first round of funding. The… 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
Sberbank lending $239.5m for de luxe real estate project
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has signed a deal with a developer to open a 7.5bn-ruble ($239.5m) five-year credit line for building a de luxe residential compound in Moscow. The loan was arranged for Moscow-based development company Restavracia N by Sberbank CIB, the lender’s investment arm. A total of more than 14bn rubles… Continue Reading
VTB Capital acquires stake in largest satellite TV operator in Russia
VTB Capital has acquired a minority stake – pegged at 25 per-cent plus one share – in Tricolor TV, Russia’s biggest satellite television operator. The investment amount is deduced to be in the range of between USD125 and USD175 mln, valuing the operator as as much as USD700 mln. The valuation is considerably lower than last… Continue Reading
Cyprus bailout defended by high-profile French economist Wyplosz
By Andrei Skvarsky. Prominent French economist Charles Wyplosz, at an event hosted by Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, defended the controversial EU/IMF bailout plan for Cyprus. It’s banks that are to blame for the crisis, and so it’s fair that those who keep money in them should share the burden of it, Professor Wyplosz told The Russia Forum, a… Continue Reading
Sberbank makes two hires for investment strategy roles
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank has made two top hires for its investment arm Sberbank CIB, with Kingsmill Bond appointed as chief strategist and Andrey Kuznetsov as strategist, both joining from Citibank. Both will be based in Moscow and report to Andy Smith, head of equity research at Sberbank CIB, according to a statement from Sberbank.… Continue Reading
Rusnano to invest in next gen microprocessors
Rusnano, Russia’s largest nanotech company 100% owned by the state, announced last week that its board of directors has approved the funding of a project aimed at developing and commercializing next gen high-capacity energy-efficient microprocessors based on advanced nanotechnology (max. 28 nanometer design rule). Rusnano didn’t disclose the name of the company to further the project; nor… 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
AVentures Capital invests in network software developer nuPSYS
AVentures Capital has acquired a minority equity stake in nuPSYS, the world’s leading visual network software developer. AVentures Capital and nuPSYS, Inc, didn’t disclose the financial details of the Series A deal to the public. AVentures was the lead investor in the round, whereas nuPSYS is in talks with international investors to increase the size… Continue Reading
iTech Capital invested in Garpun
Russian ad tech startup Garpun which developed a box solution to provide digital agencies and corporate advertisers with a full set of tools for professional online ad management, has raised $3,5 million in its first round of funding. The round was led by Moscow-based iTech Capital PE & VC fund. The funds will be used… Continue Reading
GOLDMAN SACHS COMMENT: A Few Days in Africa
By Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management. I spent three days in Africa this week, or to be precise, Cape Town and briefly {{{*}}} Johannesburg in South Africa, as well as Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria. I attach the charts from my presentation about Africa’s potential, its challenges, and its current and future position… Continue Reading
Elbrus Capital buys into Russian B2B-Center
Russian Private Equity firm Elbrus Capital, that manages two funds with total assets of over US$ 600 million, has acquired a significant minority stake of 23 per cent in B2B-Center, the largest operator of an online procurement marketplace in Russia. The procurement platform will use the funds to expand its operations and fortify its current market position. B2B-Center… Continue Reading
Sberbank taking over Citi’s retail business in Turkey
By Andrei Skvarsky. DenizBank, a Turkish operation of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has clinched a deal to buy Citibank’s retail business in Turkey. DenizBank is taking over a network which, as of December 31, had gross assets and deposits that totalled 1.2bn Turkish lira (more than $650m) and 1.5bn lira (over $800m) respectively, more than… Continue Reading
Russia’s Renaissance Capital hires head of EMEA strategy
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has handed the role of chief strategist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to Daniel Salter, whom the Moscow-based emerging markets investment bank hired from UniCredit. Salter, whose 15-year investment banking career has comprised a series of jobs in London and Moscow, was head of EMEA equity strategy… Continue Reading
Sberbank says consumer confidence in Russia dwindling
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, says consumer confidence in Russia has slipped down since January. According to the second Sberbank CIB Ivanov Consumer Confidence Tracker bi-monthly survey, the base index of consumer confidence remains negative, dropping further down to -8% in March from -4% in January. “There… Continue Reading
Swiss bank Lombard Odier: Russian investors to keep clear of Cyprus
By Andrei Skvarsky. Lombard Odier, a Swiss asset management firm, praises the European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout scheme for Cyprus for making bank bondholders “share the pain” of the crisis but warns it will deprive Cypriot banks of a major source of funding and discourage Russians from investing in the country. {{{*}}} “Unprecedented and welcome is the… Continue Reading
Sberbank buying 12 Boeing 737 jets for leasing
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has signed a $1b deal to buy 12 Next-Generation 737-800 airliners from Boeing to be supplied to Russian airline Transaero under Russia’s first-ever agreement on the operational leasing of imported aircraft. Sberbank will provide its operational leasing customers with “modern, world-class finance solutions”, the bank and the U.S. aircraft industry giant… Continue Reading
Sberbank CIB’s merchant banking team welcomes two senior newcomers
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has reported two senior hires for the merchant banking team of Sberbank CIB, its investment arm. Jonathan Gillbanks joined from Kazakhstan investment group Visor Holding as managing director responsible for structuring and marketing funds for attracting external investment and focusing specifically on technology, media and telecom projects, according… Continue Reading
J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse named as IPO bookrunners for Russia’s Qiwi
Qiwi, the operator of one of Russia’s largest networks of electronic payment terminals, is considering an initial public offering of shares on NASDAQ in mid-2013 and has named J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse as the bookrunners, according to investment intelligence website Invest IQ. Qiwi, which has not disclosed its share pricing plans, would offer up… Continue Reading
GOLDMAN SACHS COMMENT: Is There Method in the Madness?
By Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (this week’s ‘Viewpoints’). My last week was especially exhausting as there was so much going on and I had to organise so many things. And I wasn’t even travelling! Just trying to keep up with the huge array of things going on everywhere was tough enough, never… 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
Sberbank, China’s "Big Four" AgBank to do business together
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), one of the Asian country’s four largest state-owned commercial banks, have signed a memorandum of understanding pledging cooperation in a wide range of activities. {{{*}}} Trade financing and ruble and yuan settlements are some of the business lines covered by the memorandum, signed… Continue Reading
Prokhorov's Onexim completes buyout of Renaissance Capital
By Andrei Skvarsky. Onexim, a major Russian investment fund owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, has completed the buyout of Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital. {{{*}}} The transaction, launched in September 2012, makes Onexim the sole owner of RenCap, according to a statement from the two companies. All necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained except for that from… 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
Sberbank puts ex-RBS banker in charge of FICC sales
Sberbank has hired Peter Urbanczyk from Royal Bank of Scotland as head of fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) sales for the Americas. {{{*}}} Urbanczyk, whose investment banking career spans over 28 years and includes jobs with Bear Stearns, Credit Lyonnais and National Westminster Bank, will be based at the US office of Sberbank CIB, Sberbank’s… 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