Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Wednesday, June 14, that the government is making a big mistake by excessively spending petrodollars, which flood the Russian economy. He said that such spending promotes inflation and strengthening of the ruble, which are both bad for the economy.
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Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev proposed on Tuesday, June 13, to further tighten restrictions on foreign oil companies and to increase the number of oil and gas fields that the government defines as strategic. Trutnev was speaking at the 10th economic forum in St. Petersburg.
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President Vladimir Putin proposed Tuesday that his energy-rich country be put center stage by hosting the 2015 World Expo. Russia has never hosted the event before.
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Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is often viewed as one of President Putin’s possible successors, said on Tuesday, June 13, that the modern world needs a new stable financial system, in which there will be no dominating currencies. Medvedev was speaking at the 10th Economic forum in St. Petersburg.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke on Tuesday, June 13, at the economic forum in St. Petersburg, enumerated the main problems of Russian economy and invited foreign investors to pay more attention to the country’s special economic zones.
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Russian, American, European and Japanese officials are negotiating over whether Russia should be allowed greater latitude to invest in utilities, pipelines, natural gas facilities and other infrastructure in the United States and Europe, The New York Times reported on Monday, June 12.
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Russian state oil firm Rosneft on Monday announced its intention to launch an initial public offering of shares on Moscow’s MICEX and RTS bourses, with global depository receipts trading on the London Stock Exchange.
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Rebel shareholders in steelmaker Arcelor secured a special vote on Monday which could jeopardize the firm’s plans to merge with Russia’s Severstal and boost a rival takeover bid by Mittal Steel.
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Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on Saturday urged energy consuming nations to guarantee greater stability of demand to help exporters meet the needs of consumers. Speaking at a news conference after hosting finance ministers from the G7 nations for talks in St Petersburg Kudrin defended Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, June 9, that the country should develop a program to increase the share of nuclear power produced to 25 percent of total electricity output. Putin’s remarks echo the plan of Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia’s nuclear power agency Rosatom, who wants to build about 40 new nuclear power blocs in the country between now and 2030.
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On Tuesday, June 13, U.S. automotive giant General Motors laid foundation for its assembly plant in St. Petersburg. The $115 million plant is set to start production in late 2008.
State-owned oil major Rosneft, which plans to hold an initial public offering of its shares in mid-July, said on Wednesday, June 14, that it wants to sell more than the legally-required minimum of 30 percent to Russian investors.
Heated debate about the security of the world’s energy supplies will dominate the agenda when G8 finance ministers meet this week to prepare the ground for the group’s annual summit next month.
