Moscow press review for October 27, 2009
MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on October 27. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
VEDOMOSTI
By the end of the year, the price of a barrel of American WTI oil is likely to reach $85, Goldman Sachs investment bank said on Monday. This means that Russia's Urals oil will cost about $80. Official forecasts are more conservative. The Economic Development Ministry predicts $57 this year and $58 in 2010. A more optimistic forecast puts the price at $68 per barrel. But Russian oil companies remain watchful and are not planning to cut capital investment. TNK-BP plans capital investment at $3.5 billion - $4 billion in 2010, compared to $3 billion in 2009. Tatneft will invest in extraction as much as in 2009 - up to $500 million (Watchful Growth).
The average price of oil will be 8,200 rubles per tonne in Russia in November, up 11% against October, according to results in domestic trading. Growth in domestic prices will not tell on the price for gasoline. Its price remains overstated, analyst Mikhail Turukalov of the Kortes analytical center said. In his estimate, from July 1 to the middle of October, 1 tonne of AI-95 gasoline, sold at home, brought the company 6,960 - 7,700 rubles more than exported oil. But the price for diesel fuel will go up. Exporting it brings more benefits. (Oil Price Growing).
The current crisis has defeated inflation as citizens consume less due to shrinking incomes, while sellers and suppliers have to hold prices over a shortage of circulating capital and loans, the Economic Development Ministry said in a report. Prices did not rise in August, September and the first three weeks in October. The reason for that is not merely a bountiful harvest: the price rise on foodstuffs, except vegetables and fruits, slowed down to 1% in the third quarter, against 1.2% in the second and 4% in the first quarter. Basic inflation (housing utilities, gasoline, and vegetables and fruits not included) slowed down to 1.3%, compared to 1.6% in the second quarter. (Inflation in Crisis).
Russian banks earned 23 billion rubles in profit in September, according to banks' reports, posted on the Central Bank's website. September was particularly good for banks since January, when they gained over 67 billion rubles in profits primarily due to the devaluation of the ruble. The banking sector has been demonstrating growth because bank's reserves were growing at a slower pace in September, Central Bank First Vice Chairman Gennady Melikian said. This is connected partially with a decrease in overdue debts in September for the first time since the crisis began. (Loans Become Profitable).
The calculation of RTS indexes in late November will include prices for the 17 most liquid shares, traded on RTS's new market - RTS Standard, an RTS spokesman told Vedomosti. The method has been confirmed by the Federal Financial Markets Service, he said, but did not elaborate. RTS Standard opened in April. And players can make deals without depositing in advance with settlements on the fourth day with 22 shares. Quotations and settlements on the deals on this market are in rubles. (RTS Renews Index).
Pharmaceuticals distributor Protek has bought 85% of its bond loan for 5 billion rubles without waiting for an offer, Vedomosti has learned. Protek Finans , a 100% subsidiary of Protek, the holding's head company combining the manufacturer Sotex, Rigla pharmacies and the distributor, Protek introduction center, placed five-year bonds in November 2006 for 55 billion rubles at 8.9% until the end of 2009 and at 12% beyond. The organizer of the issue is Raiffeisenbank. The company is to make an offer on November 4 2009. The bonds have been bought on the distributor's own money, a company spokesman said (Protek Does Not Wait).
KOMMERSANT
The rules of the market of system services in the electricity sector could take effect before the end of 2009. The government will confirm the procedure of compensating generators' spending on the maintenance of technical parameters of the energy system. The seriousness of the problem was demonstrated by the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric plant, when reserve capacities, bringing losses to generating companies, had to be used. (Page 2, Energy Ministry Will Pay for System Stability).
Following scandalous mutual accusations of releasing misinformation and being unprofessional, the Finance Ministry and the Moscow government have hammered out an agreement. A federal loan worth 16.5 billion rubles will allow Moscow in 2010 to cut the budget deficit by 8%-9% of the planned figure. An unscheduled growth in the city's budget deficit, caused by a new method of distributing excises on fuel in the regions, the Finance Ministry uses, sparked a fierce argument between Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. The mayor blamed the Finance Ministry for instigating Muscovites' anger with the mayor and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. (Page 1, Finance Ministtry, Moscow Will Get Along on Credit).