Search Results for: Russia

BY MARK ROWE
THE RUSSIAN diamond producer ALROSA has obtained a license for exploring diamond deposits in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia around lake Baikal. ALROSA has traditionally mined the northern province of Yakutia since the 1940s but those deposits are understood to be nearing depletion.…

BY MARK ROWE
RUSSIAN smokers have undergone a quantum leap in the past 10 years. From smoking the notorious unfiltered Soviet-era papirossi, they now have a wide choice of international brands, for whom this liberalisation has been commercially significant. Russia remains one of the more appealing markets for tobacco companies, with fewer barriers and, for the time being, a fairly laissez faire approach to advertising, as well as a burgeoning middle class with the disposable incomes to afford premium cigarettes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MEPs are heading off a move by European Union (EU) ministers to agree without consultation pared-back legislation on guaranteeing the security of gas supplies during a European crisis. The European Parliament’s industry committee has voted narrowly to refuse a EU Council of Ministers bid to approve the heavily amended legislation without further input from MEPs.…

BY MARK ROWE
The Russian book market saw brisk business in the run up to Christmas, with the heavyweights of Russian literature holding their own against the increasing popularity of modern literature, particularly a number of new works by female authors.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
In what it calls a signal of confidence in the former Soviet Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is investing 20 million euros to promote beer, wine and mineral waters in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Japanese-owned Sumitec International are creating a US$45 million facility, providing lease financing for Russian companies expanding or modernising construction equipment. The scheme will focus on Siberia and other far-east regions of Russia, which – said the bank – “are currently under-serviced by the leasing industry.”…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has drawn up plans to lend up to US$12.25 million to JSC Narzan, a leading Russian mineral water producer, based in Kislovodsk, the Stavropol region. The financing would help Narzan expand bottling capacity, develop new products and satisfy working capital needs, said an EBRD memorandum.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RESERVE anti-dumping duties against two Romanian producers of certain seamless pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloy steel are to be re-imposed, even though they had last year been declared illegal by the European Court of Justice.

Judges had ruled last January that the European Commission made administrative errors when fixing the level of protection required for European Union (EU) producers from exports made by Petrotub SA and Republica SA.…

BY MARK ROWE
PRODUCTION of vodka and other hard liquors dropped in Russia last year, as the country’s bourgeoning middle class continued to choose more upmarket drinks. Analysts believe the trend may reflect the improvement of the Russian economy and the greater disposable incomes of white-collar workers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
2) An ageing, rusty Russian oil tanker has left Latvia, despite European protests. Spain and the European Commission, which have expressed grave fears about the single-hull Geroi Sevastopolya, had asked the Baltic state to halt its departure from the Ventspils port and immediately adopt an EU ban on such vessels.…