Moscow press review for April 5, 2012
MOSCOW. April 5 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on April 5. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
POLITICS & ECONOMICS
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that all automobiles bought with federal budget money should be made in Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan. However, an exception will be made for top government officials. More than 100 billion rubles of government money is spent on automobiles annually, a government official said (Vedomosti, p. 1; Kommersant, p. 1).
Government-owned OJSC Russian Lotteries is proposing to establish a state lottery corporation that would have a 75-80% market share and hold national lotteries, including in support of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. If the proposal is implemented, Russian Lotteries could have a market capitalization of over 150 billion rubles by 2018, at which point it could hold an IPO (Kommersant, p. 1).
The outflow of capital from Russia is not slowing. Amid a record foreign trade surplus of $61.4 billion, net private capital outflows totaled $35.1 billion in the first quarter of 2012, the Central Bank estimates (Vedomosti, p. 1; Kommersant, p. 6).
President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Murmansk Region Governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko on Wednesday and appointed former Norilsk Nickel executive Marina Kovtun as acting governor. Big business is actively promoting its supporters before the return of direct gubernatorial elections (Kommersant, p. 1; Vedomosti, p. 2).
Interview: Sergei Petrov, State Duma deputy and founder of automobile dealer Rolf (Vedomosti, p. 5).
OIL & GAS
Gasoline prices in Russia could jump 7-18% in the near future, otherwise there will be fuel shortages, the CEO of oil company Gazprom Neft, Alexander Dyukov warned on Wednesday. Government officials, however, do not think there is any reason for either a big price hike or shortages (Vedomosti, p. 1).
UTILITIES
Interview: Vyacheslav Kravchenko, CEO of NP Market Council (Kommersant, p. 14).
BANKING, FINANCE & INSURANCE
VTB, Russia's second largest bank, placed $1.5 billion in five-year Eurobonds at 6% on Wednesday in a benchmark offering for which demand reached $6.5 billion. VTB had initially planned to raise $500 million (Kommersant, p. 10; Vedomosti, p. 7).
RETAIL & CONSUMER MARKET
Baring Vostok Capital Partners has paid $100 million for a 27% stake in European Medical Center, the third largest chain of clinics in Russia. More than half the investment will fuel expansion, as EMC hopes to increase its market capitalization to $1 billion in two years and carry out an IPO (Kommersant, p. 9).
REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
A battle has broken out over the right to manage the future special economic zone in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. The Regional Development Ministry is proposing to give these powers to Olimpstroi instead of North Caucasus Resorts. Olimpstroi, the state corporation overseeing construction of Olympic venues in Sochi, was supposed to be liquidated after the 2014 Winter Games (Kommersant, p. 1).
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has given the green light for a company owned by Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, to acquire 100% of the Moscow Golf Club. The Club has more than 4 hectares of land in a good area of Moscow (Vedomosti, p. 7).
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
Norway's Telenor, which recently became the largest shareholder of Russian mobile service provider Vimpelcom Ltd, has increased its stake further to 39.5% from 36.4% of votes with the purchase of 65 million ADR for $715 million. Telenor may continue buying up shares in Vimpelcom (Vedomosti, p. 7).
TRANSPORTATION
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot faces a risk of failing to implement its development strategy to 2025, consulting firm Oliver Wymen warned. The airline's main problems stem from the limitations of its base airport Sheremetyevo and government regulation (Vedomosti, p. 8).
AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY
AFK Sistema has found a partner for its agribusiness. The Russian conglomerate is forming a 50-50 joint venture with Louis Dreyfus, a major global commodities trader. RZ Agro Holding, which will get the companies' agricultural assets in Russia, aims to become a leading player with land holdings of up to 500,000 hectares (Kommersant, p. 13; Vedomosti, p. 10).