Moscow press review for January 20, 2012
MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on January 20. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
POLITICS & ECONOMICS
The Russian government has quietly frozen about 200 billion rubles in federal budget accounts as insurance against a second wave of the global economic crisis. The Finance Ministry "is fully prepared for possible turbulent processes in the economy," Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Thursday, and the government has a crisis management strategy (Vedomosti, p. 1).
The Russian Finance Ministry does not rule out imposing legislative restrictions on cash payments for major purchases in order to increase transparency and boost tax collection. The public is not yet used to paying with cards and Russia's financial infrastructure is still underdeveloped, the Economic Development Ministry counters (Vedomosti, p. 1).
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov will unveil his election platform on Friday. If elected president, Prokhorov would split up gas giant Gazprom, cancel the unified state exam and the military draft, amnesty all those convicted of economic crimes who have served more than three years, and impose visas for migrant workers from Central Asia. Many of the measures he proposes have long been advocated by the nationalist LDPR (Vedomosti, p. 2; Kommersant, p. 3).
BANKING, FINANCE & INSURANCE
Russian banks posted record profits of 848 billion rubles in 2011, the Central Bank reported on Thursday. Corporate lending grew 26% and retail lending increased by 36%. However, the Central Bank cautioned that lending growth of more than 20-25% would be "alarming" in the current economic situation (Kommersant, p. 1).
Russia's Central Bank plans to obligate banks to disclose in their annual reports information about public debts and the conditions under which these debts must be paid early. This would warn bank clients about potential payments that could destabilize a bank, the Central Bank reckons (Kommersant, p. 1).
The president of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers, Pavel Bunin unexpectedly stepped down on Thursday. His departure may be due to a dispute between Russia's biggest insurers over reforms to the system of motor vehicle technical inspections and mandatory vehicle insurance (Vedomosti, p. 7; Kommersant, p. 2).
The Central Bank is liberalizing the procedure for opening branches of foreign bank subsidiaries in Russia by eliminating the need for permits. The decision was made within the context of agreements reached in the process of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (Kommersant, p. 8).
RETAIL & CONSUMER MARKET
Alexander Rodnyansky has become the first Russian film producer to raise private investment in the West. His firm A.R. Films and Media Talent Group founder Geyer Kosinski have teamed up to form a $120 million fund to produce six films in the United States (Vedomosti, p. 1; Kommersant, p. 7).
The founder of major Russian home electronics retailer Eldorado, Igor Yakovlev is investing about $150 million in the creation of the Kari chain of low-price shoe stores in Russia, Poland, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The chain aims to open 150 outlets by the end of 2012 (Kommersant, p. 7).
The average price of new cars sold in Russia hit a record high of $23,500 in 2011, 5.4% more than the previous record set in pre-crisis 2008, PwC reported. The average price in rubles rose 24.5%, based on the average annual exchange rate of the dollar, including a 20.5% jump last year alone (Vedomosti, p. 7).
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
The Communications Ministry and Economic Development Ministry have endorsed a draft decree that will allow the government to contribute 5.244 billion rubles in assets to Svyazinvest, after which the state holding will be merged with Rostelecom. But defense and security agencies insist reform will only take place if the state retains control of the telecoms provider. This could complicate Rostelecom's privatization (Kommersant, p. 10).
TRANSPORTATION
The Russian aviation authorities are heading for a showdown with the European Union. The Transport Ministry is drafting a bill to bar airlines from paying for emission quotas. In response, Europe could close its skies to Russian carriers, analysts warn (Vedomosti, p. 7).