Moscow press review for February 7, 2012
MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on February 7. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
POLITICS & ECONOMICS
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's new presidential term will not be long, and his departure will be the result of a peaceful revolution by Russia's elites, Citi forecasts in a report for its clients. Rallies and protests in Russia will be a protracted phenomenon that will continue after the presidential elections in March, and political risks will remain relatively high, the bank reckons (Vedomosti, p. 1).
The Russian government might opt to dramatically loosen its control over state companies. President Dmitry Medvedev has promised to think about a proposal to stop issuing voting directives to board directors if they are not government officials. The government has been replacing officials with professional directors on the boards of state companies since 2008 (Vedomosti, p. 3).
Interview: Heinrich Weiss, Chairman of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman and CEO of SMS Group (Vedomosti, p. 5).
OIL & GAS
Despite market expectations, the Russian government has decided to move ahead with the idea of creating a state oil and gas field services company based on Rosneft or Rosneftegaz. It could include assets controlled by the state directly, as well as divisions of Zarubezhneft and Gazprom. The state company could alter the structure of the market, 40% of which is now controlled by foreign players (Kommersant, p. 1).
Russian gas supplies to Europe are gradually stabilizing, after reportedly dropping by as much as 30% to some countries as consumption in Russia hit record highs amid a cold snap. Supplies to five EU countries are back to normal, and there has been an improvement in supplies to Gazprom's biggest clients, Germany and Italy, though the latter still says the situation is critical (Vedomosti, p. 8).
METALS & MINING
Russian metals companies have officially and in a united front come out against the government's idea to force them to modernize production facilities. Industry association Russian Steel is asking Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to drop plans to sign mandatory agreements between companies and regulators, and instead help the sector with tax and customs breaks (Kommersant, p. 11).
BANKING, FINANCE & INSURANCE
VTB, in line with orders from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, submitted a proposal to the government on Monday for a buyback offer to minority shareholders who bought into the state bank's "people's IPO." Putin said the bank will pay for the buyback out of its own profits, without state aid. VTB's shares are now trading at nearly half the IPO price, which means the buyback could cost the bank about 7 billion rubles instead of 15 billion rubles (Kommersant, p. 1; Vedomosti, p. 9).
Raising interest rates helped Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, to retain two-thirds of the record 400 billion rubles in retail deposits it attracted in December. VTB 24 retained only one third, though this is normal for January as Russians begin to spend year-end bonuses (Vedomosti, p. 7).
RETAIL & CONSUMER MARKET
Svyaznoy has become the first Russian mobile phone retailer to release financial results for 2011, reporting revenue up 24% to 69.7 billion rubles. Based on the results, analysts estimate the company, which is looking for investors, is worth $800 million to $1.1 billion (Vedomosti, p. 11).
The Miratorg group, Russia's second largest meat processor, is expanding into the retail sector with the creation of a chain of supermarkets in Moscow. The company hopes to eventually take the Miratorg chain national (Kommersant, p. 12).
U.S. media giant Viacom plans to launch a Russian version of Comedy Central, one of the most popular entertainment channels in the United States, in the first quarter of this year. The share of humor content on Russian TV has more than doubled since 2005 (Kommersant, p. 13).
TRANSPORTATION
Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element, with the support of Singapore's Changi Airports and Sberbank, could become the largest airport operator in Russia. In addition to Moscow's Sheremetyevo International, Basel is eying five major regional airports. Basel's joint venture with Sberbank and Changi Airports will bid for airports in Kaliningrad, Ufa, Perm, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, Basel deputy CEO Andrei Yelinson said (Vedomosti, p. 7).
AUTOMOTIVE & ENGINEERING
Russian officials do not want to open the doors to imports of used automobiles. The Industry and Trade Ministry has found a way around WTO obligations: importers and manufacturers of automobiles will have to pay a special scrapping fee, and rates for new vehicles will be far lower than for imported used ones. The proposal is part of a report on support for Russian industry after the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (Vedomosti, p. 1).
