Tag: Trade

Why the Doing Business ranking is so important for Russia; The World Bank report is seen as a key indicator for reforming the business environment

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
World Bank Building

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan- November 20, 2015) Alexei Lossan is the RBTH Central Desk editor for business In November 2015, the World Bank released its annual Doing Business ranking, in which Russia managed to rise to 51st place. For the Russian economy, this ranking has a particular significance because the government has selected it as […]

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G20 summit in Turkey: What were the 4 major events for Russia?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Turkey, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Turkey map

Following the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey on Nov. 15-16, RBTH presents an overview of the four most interesting events and statements concerning Russia made at the meeting of world leaders. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEY TIMOFEYCHEV, RBTH – November 17, 2015) 1. Unplanned meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents Russian President Vladimir Putin and his […]

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Russia to focus on economics, security at EAS summit in Kuala Lumpur

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Asia Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEY TIMOFEYCHEV – November 13, 2015) Russia’s will look for promote the Russian Far East as an investment destination at the upcoming East Asia Summit in Malaysia. Economic and investment cooperation will be high on Russia’s agenda at the 10th annual edition of the East Asia Summit (EAS), which will take place in […]

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Russian imports from non-CIS plummet 38% in 10M – Customs Service

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) – Russia’s merchandise imports from outside the CIS plunged 37.9% year-on-year in January-October 2015 to $132.84 billion, the Federal Customs Service (FCS) said, citing preliminary data. In October alone, imports from non-CIS countries totaled $14.375 billion, down 35.9% year-on-year. Imports declined 36.5% in October 2015 year-on-year for food goods and raw materials for their production to […]

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Exiled Kremlin Critic Becomes EBRD Chief Economist

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Guriev file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2015) Sergei Guriev, a former adviser to the Russian government who fled the country two years ago, has been appointed chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Guriev is to take up his post in summer 2016. He will become the first […]

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Airbnb Sees Rapid Growth in Russia Amid Recession

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2015) The online lodging service Airbnb has seen rapid growth in Russia as the country’s economic recession forces more Russians to look for ways to supplement their incomes, the Bloomberg news agency reported Tuesday. The Russian business of San Francisco-based Airbnb has doubled during the past year, propelling Moscow into the world’s top […]

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Foreign IT Companies Threaten to Quit Russia Over Restrictive Legislation

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Science, Technology, Engineering
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – November 3, 2015) Major foreign IT companies could suspend their investment in Russia or withdraw from the country altogether over restrictions in the Russian market, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. These restrictions include a Russian law that obliges state agencies to justify the purchases of foreign software from Jan. 1, 2016, as […]

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Is the Russian economy about to be hit by a new drop in oil prices?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Offshore Oil Rig file photo

Low prices for hydrocarbons have led to the record-breaking filling of storage facilities in Europe and the United States, according to data published by Goldman Sachs. Although the report predicts a sharp decline in demand for oil, posing a threat to the Russian economy, Russian experts do not expect panic in the oil market. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru […]

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Russia Oil Production Poised for Record as Industry Defies Slump

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stephen Bierman, Julian Lee – October 29, 2015) Russian oil output is poised to break a post-Soviet record for the fourth time this year as the nation’s producers once again prove themselves resilient to a slump in crude prices. Production of crude and a light oil called condensate is on track to reach 10.77 million barrels […]

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European Union Prohibits Studies of Sanctioned Russian Banks

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Sanctions
EU Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 23, 2015) The European Union has prohibited its financial institutions from publishing analytical research of the Russian banks under EU sanctions, the European Commission said in a statement. The European Commission, the EU’s legislative body, prohibited publishing research on Russian banks because the analysis contained in the reports could help investors in Russia make […]

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Ukrainian energy minister plans to prolong electricity contract with Russia

Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Electrical Yard file photo

(Interfax – October 20, 2015) Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn is planning to prolong the electricity import contract with Russia that expires on 31 December 2015, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on 20 October. “We are planning to prolong the contract. Everything depends on further talks and contract conditions,” he said. Ukraine will need Russian electricity to meet peak demand […]

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Multinationals pessimistic on Russian market

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – October 19, 2015) Large investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the Russian market, according to a report by Global Counsel, which shows that some are reducing their exposure. Although some groups are holding their options open, and some are even seizing counter-cyclical opportunities, unless the business environment improves more groups […]

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Foreign Investors Complain About Russia’s Unpredictable Laws

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Russia & the West, Sanctions
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – October 20, 2015) Unpredictable lawmaking is undermining Russia’s ability to attract foreign investors, the Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC) – a group of the biggest foreign companies working in Russia – told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday. A report by financial services group and FIAC member EY (Ernst & Young) into […]

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Foreign Investment in Russian Commercial Property Hits 7-Year High

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – October 19, 2015) Foreign investment in Russian commercial property has hit a seven-year high as the weak ruble has made the market more attractive for international companies, the RBC newspaper reported Friday, citing a recent market study. Foreign capital accounted for 42 percent of investment in the commercial real estate market in […]

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$50 Oil for 15 Years Isn’t What Scares Bank of Russia Governor

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Elvira Nabiullina file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Evgenia Pismennaya, Anna Andrianova, Ryan Chilcote – October 14, 2015) Fifteen years of oil at $50 a barrel isn’t the worst nightmare for Russian central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina. “What worries me more is the pace of reforms in the economy that could stimulate private investment,” Nabiullina, 51, said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday. […]

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Putin looks back to West as China swing chokes

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Eurasia Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Jason Corcoran in Moscow – October 14, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin is abandoning his much-vaunted pivot to Asian sources of finance, judging by the prominence given to Anglo-American investors during his question & answer session at the VTB Capital conference in Moscow on October 13. A year ago, Western investors were largely absent […]

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Ukraine ‘breadbasket’ prepares for its next heyday

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Benjamin Rahr in London – October 7, 2015) Despite Ukraine’s 18-month old civil war and the loss of territories in the east of the country, it has impressively maintained its status as one of the world’s leading exporters of agricultural products. Now the pro-European government in Kyiv hopes that its agribusiness, bolstered by a […]

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Russia admits lack of technologies for offshore oil production

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions, Science, Technology, Engineering, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Offshore Oil Rig file photo

The Russian government has announced that it is seeking to source equipment for offshore oil production from new countries due to the impact of sanctions by the European Union and the United States. However, as experts note, the development of Arctic fields is being hindered by low oil prices. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – […]

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Ukraine’s seamy coal trade learns to vault the frontlines

Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – September 25, 2015) Ukraine “should provide for transparency in coal purchases in the anti-terrorist zone [rebel-territories in East Ukraine] and abroad,” US ambassador to Kyiv Geoffrey Pyatt has warned amid growing attention to the shadowy lucrative trading that continues across the front line of the armed conflict. Pyatt, quoted […]

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Oilprice.com: How Russia’s Oil Companies Are Defying Sanctions and Low Oil Prices

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions
Oil Wells File Photo

(Oilprice.com – Colin Chilcoat – September 24, 2015) Winning and losing is largely a matter of perspective, and that’s no different in today’s low oil price environment. Still, certain data and metrics can provide a more incorruptible viewpoint on the carnage, or lack thereof. In that regard-and to the surprise of many-count Russia’s oil majors among the current winners. Ranked […]

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EU-Russia food fight masks business as usual

Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU
EU Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Liam Halligan in London – September 22, 2015) For several days in late July and early August, thousands of farmers across North East France used tractors to obstruct roads from Germany. The aim was to prevent trucks carrying agricultural goods from crossing the Rhine. In South West France, too, more Gallic protesters, similarly mounted […]

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Russian Imports Plunge 39 Percent as Recession Takes Hold

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – September 23, 2015) The value of goods imported by Russia from outside the former Soviet Union tumbled 39 percent in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2014, as a deep recession cut into the country’s buying power. According to preliminary data from the Federal Customs […]

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Russia to Ban Genetically Modified Organisms in Food Production

Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of U.S. Dairy Cows

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 21, 2015) The Russian government will ban production of goods using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying Friday. “The question is complicated, but the decision was made: We are not going to produce any food products using genetically modified organisms,” Dvorkovich said at an agricultural forum, the […]

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Deutsche Bank confirms its retreat from Russia

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Germany, Sanctions
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Jason Corcoran in Moscow – September 18, 2015) Deutsche Bank, a lender whose ties with Russia span 134 years, will exit its investment banking business in Moscow by the end of year following allegations its bankers laundered money on behalf of its clients, it was confirmed on September 18. The German bank’s corporate finance […]

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Russian Consumer Rot Worsens as Wages Decline More Than Forecast

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova – September 17, 2015) A slump in Russian consumption showed no letup last month while a drop in investment stretched into the longest in two decades, highlighting the toll on the economy from lower oil prices and the latest wave of ruble depreciation. Real wages declined 9.8 percent from a year earlier after a […]

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Russian economy ministry more optimistic than CBR about oil prices

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Alexei Ulyukayev file photo

SOCHI. Sept 17 (Interfax) – Russia’s Economic Development Ministry is somewhat more optimistic about the outlook for the oil market than the Central Bank in its baseline scenario, which assumes an oil price of $50 per barrel in the next three years. “Our hypothesis is that it might be a little higher, but this is absolutely not crucial,” Economic Development […]

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Tbilisi says Russia promises not to hinder Georgia-EU Association Agreement

Europe, EU, Georgia
Georgia Map

TBILISI. Sept 14 (Interfax) – Georgia did not coordinate with Moscow its association agreement with the European Union, Special Envoy of the Georgian Prime Minister for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze has said. “What is more, representatives of the Russian administration said they would not hinder Georgia’s signing of that document,” he told the Georgian newspaper Kviris Palitra in an […]

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Moscow world’s most unfriendly city, survey finds

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Lottie Millington in London – September 14, 2015) Moscow has been voted the unfriendliest city in the world by readers of the US magazine Travel and Leisure. The third unfriendliest was Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, with cities in America, Western Europe and China also appearing in the list of 15 cities. Even so, […]

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Interfax: “Lavrov: Putin will speak at UN of Western abuses of sanctions’ mechanism”

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions, United Nations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
UN Building file photo

MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax) – The obsession of the West with sanctions and not only with regard to Russia will become one of the subjects of the speech of President Vladimir Putin at the jubilee session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced. “We assume that Putin will express our principled evaluations […]

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Central Bank in baseline scenario expecting oil price at around $50 per barrel in next 3 years

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Wells File Photo

MOSCOW. Sept 11 (Interfax) – The Central Bank of Russia updated the forecast that was made earlier on the average annual price for oil and now is considering it being close to $50 a barrel in the next three years as the baseline scenario. “Going forward, the economic situation will depend on the global energy prices and the economy’s ability […]

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Explaining Russia’s ‘new normal’

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Weafer of Macro-Advisory – September 11, 2015) Chris Weafer is a founding partner of Macro-Advisory, which helps investors cut though the noise & focus on underlying trends, real political risks, & opportunities in Russia/CIS, Eurasia Union, & Mongolia. Follow him on @ChrisWeafer One of the slogans now regularly deployed to describe Russia’s current […]

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Putin Flies to China Amid Economic Gloom

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Asia Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – September 2, 2015) President Vladimir Putin will be one of the most noteworthy guests at Chinese celebrations to mark the end of World War II when he arrives in Beijing on Wednesday, even as fraying economic ties between the two giant countries undermine the Kremlin’s “pivot to the East.” The Russian delegation […]

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Russia Faces Reality With Prediction of Deeper Economic Slump

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova, Olga Tanas – August 25, 2015) Russia’s government is starting to face reality. While insisting the worst of its recession was over, it cut its economic forecasts for this year and next amid the renewed plunge in energy prices and persistent sanctions over Ukraine. Economists said the revisions fell short of their estimates predicting […]

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‘Mass Murder:’ Russian Patients Brace For Ban On Medical Imports

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Claire Bigg – August 23, 2015) When Yulia Koptseva heard about a Russian government plan to ban a range of foreign-made medical goods, she had a single, urgent thought: “I want my daughter to live.” That was also the poignant comment she left on an online petition that has gathered almost 10,000 signatures against the proposal, […]

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Shopping Spray: Loutish Russian’s Beer-Biting Patriotism

Agriculture, Europe, EU, Sanctions
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Anna Shamanska – August 22, 2015) Stas Baretsky is foaming at the mouth about banned Western goods in Russia. As the food-destruction craze over banned Western goods continues in Russia, the St. Petersburg Orthodox Union of Cossacks and a very large former band member have joined in. The group went to a local store of the […]

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Russia’s ‘Foreign Agents’ Risk Losing Right to Run Media

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – August 21, 2015) As the crackdown on Russian NGOs continues, the Communications Ministry has suggested forbidding those labeled as “foreign agents” from launching and registering media outlets. The proposal, part of a bill that the ministry published on a government website for draft laws, stipulates that non-governmental organizations registered as “foreign agents” […]

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Russia Rewrites Growth Blueprint as Recession Dooms Consumer

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova – August 19, 2015) [Chart here bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-19/russia-rewrites-blueprint-for-growth-as-recession-dooms-consumer] Russia’s consumer economy, powered for more than a decade by a $2.1 trillion energy windfall, is in agony. The situation is getting worse, according to data released Wednesday by the statistics office in Moscow. Wages adjusted for inflation plummeted 9.2 percent last month from a year earlier […]

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Oil Prices Must Rebound. Here’s Why.

Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

(Oilprice.com – Steve Brown – August 19, 2015) [Charts here http://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Prices-Must-Rebound-Heres-Why.html] Last week I spotted a very interesting chart that Gregor MacDonald tweeted which showed world oil production over recent years excluding the USA. The chart was pretty flat and that got me wondering about the extent to which the world has come to depend upon Light Tight Oil in […]

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NEWSWATCH Washington Post: Russia used to have a powerful weapon in its energy sector. Not anymore.

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy
Gas Flame file photo

The Washington Post assesses shifts in Russia’s position within the energy sector, and the impact upon Russian coercive pressure on the West. For years, Russia’s ability to choke off energy shipments any time tensions spiked with the West was a potent threat, one that could force much of Europe to shiver during the wintertime. But with energy prices swooning, the […]

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Simon Saradzhyan: Response to to Dr. Mark Galeotti’s article on Russia Strategy (JRL#152. August 7)

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, NATO, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Sanctions, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

Subject: Response to to Dr. Mark Galeotti’s article on Russia Strategy (JRL#152. August 7) Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 23:14:07 +0000 From: Simon Saradzhyan <Simon_Saradzhyan@hks.harvard.edu> Simon Saradzhyan’s Response to Dr. Mark Galeotti’s article on Russia Strategy in Foreign Affairs. [Simon Saradzhyan is assistant director of the U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism and a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer […]

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Poll: Banned food better be given to needy, orphans

Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sanctions
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Interfax – August 13, 2015) Forty percent of Russians have backed the authorities’ decision to destroy embargoed food, while the number of opponents is a bit higher (48 percent), the Levada Center has told Interfax on Aug. 13. In the opinion of the respondents, the food would better be given to orphanages, homeless shelters or hospitals (43 percent) or be […]

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