Moscow press review for May 31, 2011
MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on May 31. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
VEDOMOSTI
The new rules for operating on the wholesale energy market could cost not only to Oleg Deripaska's company, but also to state-owned Rosenergoatom which is facing a fine of 1% from electricity sale proceeds. Rosenergoatom might have problems because under the new wholesale market rules, only NPPs with two types of reactors (fast-neutron and RBMK, a type of graphite-moderated nuclear reactor), and not all NPPs, as previously, will be exempt from the General Primary Frequency Regulation (OPRCh). They account for approximately a half of all plants, the second half are the VVR type (pressurized water reactor). Now they have to participate in regulation, but have no technical facilities for that, and the fine for not complying with the rules is 1% from electricity sales, three sources close to the Market Council supervisory board told Vedomosti. ("Atomic fine")
On Monday, MRSK Urala announced its new shareholder - Cyprus' Energyo Solutions Russia with a 5.2% stake. It is a company of Finland's investment fund EOS Russia specializing in the Russian energy sector, whose co-founder and board chairman is Seppo Remes. The fund did not own the company's shares before acquiring papers on a free market. On Monday such a stake cost 1 billion rubles at the MICEX. And that is not Remes' only investment in grid companies recently. Last week MRSK Volgi said that it has learnt about a new owner - Energyo Solutions Russia with a 7.8% interest. It is unclear when the investment was made. ("Remes throws a net")
The Bank of Moscow board of directors failed on Friday to approve an annual report for its approval at a shareholders' meeting, according to two sources close to the board. All directors abstained, the sources told Vedomosti. The annual shareholders' meeting was scheduled for June 27. Another obstacle for the annual report to be approved by the board of directors was the decision by audit commission chairman Konstantin Popov to withdraw his membership from the commission. Nor has the bank prepared its IFRS reports. Apparently, the bank management, directors and auditors will have to seek help of the Central Bank to reach a consensus. ("Bank without report")
KOMMERSANT
Russky Standart is set to enter the retirement market which is worth over 1 trillion rubles: Rustam Tariko's Group is buying the non-state pension fund (NPF). Russky Standard "a weighty advantage for working on the market of compulsory pension insurance in the form of the already operating agency networks of the insurance company and the bank. However, given the escalating debate around the scrapping of the accumulative pension insurance, risks in this business are higher than potential profits, experts warned. (page 1, "Russky Standart reaches retirement age")
IKEA plans to set up its own bank in Russia. For large foreign groups which have a diversified business, having subsidiary credit institutions in the region of presence is a standard practice because it allows to lock financial flows from various types of business in one place and to rid of the expense of intermediary banks' service. In Russia, this path has so far been treaded only by automotive groups, IKEA will be the first retailer to follow suit. (page 10, "Locally-assembled bank")
Vinci and its partner in the consortium, which builds the first section of a toll road between Moscow and St. Petersburg, businessman Arkady Rotenberg are set to file separate bids for operating another toll road, a section of the Don motorway. Vinci and Rotenberg seem to be disappointed with one another after failures on the Khimki motorway, market sources told Kommersant. Vinci is looking for another partner in the Don tender where it is so far bidding alone. Mostotrest, in which Rotenberg owns 25%, has already filed a bid in partnership with Vinci's biggest European rival, Austria's Kapsch. (page 1, "Arkady Rotenberg takes a different road")
This year French media conglomerate Lagardere will sell 50% in Russian publishing group Hachette Filipacchi Shkulev - InterMediaGroup (AFS-IMG; Elle, Maxim, Marie Claire, Psychologies, the Antenna-Telesem television guide) to U.S. company Hearst. President and owner of another 49% in AFS-IMG Viktor Shkulev told Kommersant how relations will be built with the new partner, why he is paying extra for 1% in the publishing house and why glamour publications sometimes overstate their circulation. (page 13, "We are not yet among resources involved in political game")