Russia 01 (May 08 - Jul 10)

Russia 01 (May 08 - Jul 10)

Postby kennynah » Wed May 07, 2008 7:07 pm

Putin - Prime Minister of Russia

a case of you rub my back, i rub yours...

Putin is touted to return to presidency after medvedev completes this term...russian constitution prohibits more than 2 successive terms in presidential office, which putin occupied.

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07 May 2008 10:56 GMT
Medvedev Nominates Putin As Russian Prime Minister - Report

MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia's newly inaugurated President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday nominated his predecessor Vladimir Putin as prime minister, a Kremlin spokesman said.

"Medvedev has put forward Putin's candidacy for prime minister to parliament," a Kremlin spokesman said.
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Russian Stocks

Postby winston » Thu May 08, 2008 5:10 pm

If one is interested in Russian stocks, there is a Lyxor Russia listed in HK ( 2831 )..

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Russia Stocks Cheapest in Europe on Higher Inflation
By William Mauldin

May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's stock market is telling Dmitry Medvedev that investors are losing confidence as inflation accelerates and taxes curb profits at the nation's biggest oil producers.

Russia's RTS Index is off to its worst start to a year since 1998, when the government's $40 billion default sent equities around the world tumbling. The 50 companies in the RTS, dominated by energy producers, through yesterday traded at an average 9.52 times estimated earnings, the lowest among Europe's 10 biggest stock markets and a 29 percent discount to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The combination of the quickest inflation in five years and a 45 percent increase in oil taxes spurred the benchmark RTS Index's 3.1 percent decline this year. While former President Vladimir Putin presided over eight years of economic growth and a 14-fold increase in the RTS, Medvedev, his handpicked successor, inherits a stock market that's performing worse than Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, and South Africa.

``For the new Medvedev-Putin administration, inflation is the biggest challenge,'' said Ian Hague, founding partner at Firebird Management LLC in New York, which has $1.5 billion of its $3.5 billion emerging-market assets in Russian equities. ``And those who think that by buying Russian oil stocks they're going to capture the oil windfall are kidding themselves.''

The RTS rose 2.2 percent yesterday as Medvedev, the chairman of OAO Gazprom, took over the presidency, and added 0.9 percent to 2,220.7 as of 12:34 p.m. today in Moscow.

Gazprom Overtakes GE

State-run Gazprom, the biggest natural-gas producer, overtook General Electric Co. as the world's fourth-largest company by market value after Medvedev became Russia's third president.

The RTS trades at a 17 percent discount to the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index, which is valued at 11.5 times estimated profit. France's CAC 40 trades at 11.3 times and Germany's DAX at 11.8.

OAO Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, has underperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets Energy Index by 41 percentage points since it went public in 2006. The Moscow-based company trades at 11.8 times profit, compared with a ratio of 13.3 for Beijing-based Cnooc Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer.

Rosneft has been hurt by inflation because of rising equipment, infrastructure and wage costs, Peter O'Brien, the company's chief financial officer, said in an interview last month in Moscow.

Lukoil Shares

OAO Lukoil, Russia's second-biggest oil producer, trades at 7.32 times estimated profits after underperforming the MSCI Emerging Markets Energy Index by 41 percentage points in the past two years. The Moscow-based company is valued at a 34 percent discount to the 11.1 price-to-estimated earnings ratio for MSCI's gauge of oil and gas producers in developing markets.

In addition to inflation-related expenses for energy companies, the export duty on oil has risen 45 percent this year and will be set at $398.10 a metric ton, or about $54 a barrel, on June 1.

Medvedev, 42, pledged yesterday to fight inflation as he was sworn in. The government may formulate a plan in two months for tax cuts on oil companies to overcome production ``stagnation,'' Energy and Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko said in an interview in April.

Societe Generale Asset Management bought Lukoil and Rosneft this year because they may benefit from tax reductions and are cheap. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised Lukoil to ``buy'' this week because of the possibility that oil prices will rise to between $150 and $200 a barrel within two years.

`At the Beginning'

A tax reduction on oil is ``more likely to happen earlier rather than later,'' said Nerea Heras, who managed the $280 million eastern Europe fund at Societe Generale in London before leaving in April for Madrid to help oversee Banco Santander SA investments in eastern Europe and other emerging markets. ``You have to do it at the beginning of a new term.''

Medvedev may increase taxes on other commodity producers to compensate for lower oil revenue. That probably would mean earnings at Moscow-based OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, Berezniki, Russia-based OAO Uralkali and Solikamsk, Ural Mountains-based OAO Silvinit would suffer, according to Alexei Zabotkin, chief investment officer at United Capital Partners in Moscow.

``There will be redistribution of taxation in the commodity sector away from oil and toward other resources,'' said Zabotkin, whose firm manages $1.5 billion in Russian stocks and private equity.

Norilsk, Russia's biggest mining company and the supplier of everything from nickel and palladium to platinum and copper, is valued at 6.79 times estimated earnings, compared with 12.7 times for the MSCI Emerging Markets Materials Index.

Soybeans, Alfalfa

Uralkali, the Russian company developing the world's second-largest deposit of potash -- used to fertilize corn, wheat, soybeans and alfalfa -- and Silvinit, Russia's biggest potash producer, are trading at more expensive valuations as global shortages cause food prices to soar. Uralkali is valued at 25.5 times estimated profit, while Silvinit has a ratio of 53.4.

At the same time, OAO RusHydro, the world's second-biggest hydroelectric generator, may be ``impacted negatively'' as the government debates whether to let utilities raise domestic power prices at the risk of boosting inflation, Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-largest bank, said in a note this week.

RusHydro, based in Moscow, trades at 13.1 times earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, compared with 14.6 times earnings for the MSCI Emerging Markets Utilities Index.
Last edited by winston on Fri May 09, 2008 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Russian Stocks

Postby kennynah » Thu May 08, 2008 5:25 pm

W : u the can...russian news oso can sieve out... where but only at Huatopedia and Winston's posts, can we find such info...kudos !!!

it appears that such spikes in curdue oil, over such a short period of time, is negatively affecting global growth...

the oil producers will certainly not do anything except to sit back and enjoy the moment...

the situation on high crude oil is clearly not becos of excessive demand but the weakened dollar... at least that was how the story was spun at the beginnning. lately, you see the great disconnect from Dollar to Oil... i am pleased to see this...as it tells me that such speculation is just waiting to be short down...


i have APA (apache) and a few OIl related counters that just asking for it...patiently and hawkishly eyeing for the moment ...
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Re: Putin - Prime Minister of Russia

Postby LenaHuat » Fri May 09, 2008 2:39 pm

Firstly, rub.
Secondly, scrub.
Next, scratch.
Next, tap.
At the same height, they see eye-to-eye.

This pairing actually gives me a larger measure of confidence in the Russian economy.
Their models, fashion designers are giving the Americans a good run for their money.
Now, I am waiting to savour Russian fare in Singapore.
Any1 know of any Russian fast-food in Moscow........not been there for a long time??
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Re: Putin - Prime Minister of Russia

Postby millionairemind » Fri May 09, 2008 2:47 pm

The Economist thinks that most likely the new President will all of sudden announce personal illness into 2nd year of his term and Putin will have "no choice" but to take up the Presidency.. due to "popular" demand.. :lol:

I like Russia actually.. worked there for 4 months back in 2001 and think it is a pretty place... pretty leggy girls.. but very dull men.. :mrgreen:
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Re: Putin - Prime Minister of Russia

Postby millionairemind » Sat May 10, 2008 10:19 am

Don't like lah... They have a weird culture where everytime they see you they must shake your hands... even though you have seen them the fifth time for the day!!!

The girls... wah lao.. don't mind they bear hug me man... :mrgreen:

My wife said she lucky she went with me for the job cos' too many chio girls around... on average..they are so much prettier and leggier than the girls from the other countries that I have worked in.

My wife is 1.72m tall and she is considered average height there...talk about leggy...
:mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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Re: Russia - General News

Postby winston » Tue May 20, 2008 6:22 pm

Russia Industrial Output Rises 9.2%, Nine-Month High
By Paul Abelsky

May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Russian industrial production rose an annual 9.2 percent in April, the highest in nine months, as auto makers boosted output to meet demand in Europe's fastest growing car market.

Output compares with a 6.5 percent rate in March, the Moscow- based Federal Statistics Service said in an e-mailed statement today, and beat the 7.2 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 18 economists. The rate was the highest since July 2007, when it peaked at 10.3 percent.

Russia, the world's biggest energy supplier, is luring record amounts of capital investment into manufacturing, a sign the government is succeeding in cutting the nation's reliance on oil and gas exports. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose eight years as president ended this month, said on May 15 that Russia has ``no alternative'' than to diversify the $1.3 billion economy.

``Strong domestic demand for manufacturing was a factor,'' said Juri Kren, an emerging markets economist at IDEAglobal in London, in a telephone interview. ``It's difficult for light- industry producers to compete with foreign products,'' but ``heavy industry dominates, however, because there's less foreign competition.''

The two-year government bond, which is most sensitive to interest-rate expectations, rose to 104.96 by 13:22 p.m. in Moscow, with the yield sliding 6 basis points to 5.397 percent, the lowest since April 24.

Capital Investment

Capital investment rose a record 24.5 percent last year, while a net $20 billion of foreign capital flowed into Russia in April, after an outflow of $22 billion in the first quarter, the central bank said last week. Capital inflows to Russia last year were a record $82 billion.

Today's manufacturing figures will increase pressure on the central bank to allow the ruble to strengthen because it diminishes their concern that an strengthening ruble harms Russian industry, said Shahin Vallee, an emerging-markets strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London.

The ruble is a managed, floating currency that the central bank fixes against a basket of euros and dollars to limit the effect fluctuations have on exporters and manufacturers.

Foreign carmakers including Ford Motor Co. helped raise automobile production 29 percent, while tractor output more than doubled and freight-car production advanced by a third.

New Deals

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-largest carmaker, and Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. agreed yesterday to invest as much as 350 million euros ($545 million) in a car factory in Russia, joining rivals including Ford, Renault SA, Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp.

Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said on Jan. 30 that Russia will surpass Germany as Europe's biggest car market within two years.

Manufacturers also had more access to financing as banks eased credit, said Elena Sharipova, an economist at Renaissance Capital in Moscow.

``The stabilization on international capital markets has brought greater investments into the machine manufacturing sector in particular, leading to a spike in production,'' Sharipova said.

Russia's 10th year of economic growth is also boosting demand for new apartments and offices, with builders rushing to replace the country's Soviet-built housing stock.

Brick production climbed by 11 percent in April, while crane output more than doubled and steel panel construction more than tripled, the service said.

``Growing prices for building materials in recent years drove companies to increase spending, and the rise in output is showing results of that greater rate of investments in the construction industry,'' said Maxim Oreshkin, an economist at Moscow-based OAO Rosbank.

Oil production, Russia's greatest single source of revenue, declined 0.7 percent in April from a year earlier.
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Re: Russia - General News

Postby winston » Fri May 23, 2008 3:22 pm

From Russia Today:-
China eyes Russian farmlands in food push

Chinese companies will be encouraged to buy, or take on lease, farmlands abroad to help guarantee food security, under a plan being considered by Beijing. The move comes amid a food crisis in China.

China has about 40 per cent of the world’s farmers, but just 9 per cent of the world’s arable land.

Africa and South America are among the most likely directions. Russia’s also in the list. However, according to the country’s constitution, foreign companies aren’t allowed to buy Russian land, though still possible to lease.

Acquiring farmlands abroad is now becoming a trend around the globe. Oil-rich but food-poor countries in the Middle East and North Africa explore similar options. Libya is now in talks with Ukraine about growing wheat in the former Soviet republic, while Saudi Arabia says it will invest in agricultural and livestock projects abroad to ensure food security and control commodity prices.
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Re: Russia - General News

Postby kennynah » Fri May 23, 2008 6:35 pm

23 May 2008 10:17 GMT


China, Russia sign billion-dollar nuclear deal - official
BEIJING (Thomson Financial) - China and Russia on Friday signed a $1-billion deal to develop a nuclear energy facility in the Asian nation, a Russian official said.

"We have completed negotiations on construction of a uranium enrichment factory," Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, told reporters in Beijing.

He was speaking during a visit to Beijing by new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is on his first foreign trip since taking office this month.
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Re: Russia - Market News & Stocks

Postby winston » Sun May 25, 2008 6:22 pm

Copied from "Non-US Market Data".

From kennynah with thanks:-

Russian Manufacturing PMI Remains Stable In March

4/1/2008 4:26:54 AM Russia's headline Purchasing Manager's Index or PMI in March was unchanged from February's 54.6, reports of the NTC Economics and the VTB Bank Europe revealed Tuesday. The PMI has remained in the expansion zone throughout 2008 compared to the previous year.

Russian manufacturing PMI is derived from a monthly survey of 300 purchasing executives in Russian manufacturing companies. Reading above 50.0 indicates an increase, whereas reading below 50.0 shows a contraction.

In March, the rate of growth of manufacturing new orders slightly accelerated, a resumption of the upward trend in growth since October. New export orders accelerated, driven by the domestic economy.

The VTB noted that the input cost inflation accelerated, as a result of rising energy costs and high global commodity prices. This was the highest registered growth ever since October 1999. Moreover, firms' output prices rose at a faster rate due to upward pressure on costs.

Russia's manufacturing output registered a robust growth in March, the third highest of any month since August 2000.The prior two months logged the fastest expansion of production since August 2006.

In March, Russian manufacturers increased the staffing levels at a slightly faster rate, which led to a downfall in outstanding business for the 18th consecutive month.

Purchases made by the Russian manufacturers registered a slow growth in March due to shortages of working capital. This led to a drop in the stocks of input at a faster rate. Stocks of finished goods fell as sales demand strengthened.
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