Thursday, December 30, 2010

IPO of Groupon

The company Groupon (offering through the internet coupons for discounts at restaurants, shops and services of local companies) plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange before the end of 2011, reports The New York Times citing informed sources. 

According to the publication, a successful startup is now increasing capitalization, extends the list of investors and rejects proposals from larger companies. Groupon is simultaneously negotiating with financial advisers, preparing for public listing of its shares in 2011.
Groupon plans to sell shares at 31.59 dollars per share, which allows to evaluate a company in the amount of from 6,4 to 7,8 billion dollars, depending on the number of outstanding shares, according to research firm VC Expert, specializing in the evaluation of private companies. 


Annual revenue of Groupon is according to various estimates from $500 million to $ 2 billion. According to the head of Groupon Russia Elena Masolova profitability of this service in Russia is already several hundred thousand dollars.
Experts call Groupon one of the most successful and fastest-growing Internet startups. Among its investors there is the fund DST Global, whose president is the head of the company Mail.Ru Group Yuri Milner. The Fund owns 5,1% of Groupon


Groupon may cause excitement on the Stock Exchange. "Investors are considering  this  company to be a business, which in future will cost much more," - he said.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Auchan Opened 50 Stores ATAC In Russia During 2010

French Auchan Group manages a network of hypermarkets Auchan in Russia and in 2010opened the territory of Russia 18 supermarkets of its network ATAC: the 50th store was opened  in Krasnogorsk, the company reported.

The number corresponds to the claimed company's plans. During this year the company opened facilities in the Moscow region and in nearby regions.

The area of a supermarket in Krasnogorsk is 1.22 thousand square meters. As noted in the message, a new supermarket gas the expanded range of vegetables and fruits.

In mid-September 2010 Auchan reported about its plans to increase the number of Russian supermarket network ATAC to 200 stores by 2015.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Titanium Valley - Special Economic Zone In Sverdlovsk Region of Russia

2011 will see the development of the first phase (300 hectares) of the Special Economic Zone, Titanium Valley, in the Sverdlovsk Region. 

On December 16th in 2010, the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed the ordinance for development of Russia's fourth special economic zone.

By 2016, the total area of the Titanium Valley will amount to 700 hectares. Its anchor resident will become the VSMPO-Avisma Corporation, which initiated the creation of the special economic zone. Arvi, SR Systematics, MAG, and the United Aircraft Construction Corporation announced their intention to become residents of this zone.

It is planned that the residents will not pay property, land and transport taxes; the profit tax rate will be decreased from 20 to 15.5%. The Titanium Valley will have the status of a free customs zone: the residents will have the right to import goods to Russia without paying customs duties and VAT.

The prerequisite for being qualified as a zone resident is investment equal to minimum 3 million euro in industrial production operations performed within the Special Economic Zone, provided that minimum 1 million euro has been invested within the first year upon registration. At the initial stage of operations in the Titanium Valley, the total amount of investment is estimated at about 40 billion rubles.

By materias of Rusbiznews 

Monday, December 27, 2010

Investments of German Heidelberg Cement In Russia



Total volume of HeidelbergCement's investments in Russia is about $ 800 million, making the company one of the biggest German investors in the Russian economy General manager of HeidelbergCement in Russia Christian Knell reported today.


The company already has a strong position in the market of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad region with the plant Tsesla, it owns a controlling stake in a cement plant of the company Building materials in the Republic of Bashkortostan. "In addition, HeidelbergCement operates a terminal for the storage and delivery of 30,000 tons of cement per year in  Murmansk and terminal with a capacity of 200 thousand tons of cement per year in Kaliningrad, which is very important for the area where cement is not made", - said Mr Knell.


He also said that the company has made significant progress in building of a modern cement plant in Tula region. It is planned that the plant will be commissioned in late first quarter of next year and be able to provide cement-growing regions of Moscow and Moscow region.


"After the launch of the new plant output of HeidelbergCement in Russia will be more than 4 million tons per year, which will strengthen our position in the Russian market. In addition, using the best of European technology will be modernized production line of our plant in the Leningrad region. It will expand production capacity for cement up to 1.2 million tons a year", - said Mr Knell.


The recent decision by FIFA to hold the World Cup in Russia will also contribute to the rise of the cement industry. "According to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the investment in the construction of stadiums and surrounding infrastructure in 13 cities in Russia will amount to about $ 10 billion. Russia will build not only a new stadium - will be upgrading roads and rail will be built and modernized airports and hotels of different classes. Of course, the World Cup - is not cheap, but it's worth the money spent, as new construction projects will improve the living conditions of the Russians. HeidelbergCement company is ready to participate in the preparation for the championship and deliver high-quality cement, "- said the head of HeidelbergCement in Russia.


HeidelbergCement has every opportunity to thrive in the Russian market. "We operate in 11 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, most of them occupy leading positions in the cement market. Accordingly, we expect that will also be able to develop successfully in Russia," - he said in an interview.


German group HeidelbergCement Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of building materials, cement and concrete, a world leader in the production of crushed stone. 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Taxation Of Foreign Legal Entities In Russia

Foreign organisations, international organisations – legal entities with permanent divisions in Russia, diplomatic and other representations of equal status must get registered with Russian tax authorities.

Foreign organizations engaged (or planning to be engaged) in operation in the RF through divisions for over 30 calendar days per year (in turn or in aggregate)

- must get registered with a tax body at the location of conducting the activity (within 30 days after operations
started), it does not matter whether the activity afterwards is recognised as subject to taxation or  not. After registration the certificate of established form is issued with TIN (taxpayer’s identification number) and CRR (code number of reason for registration).

- Should organisation have more than one division at the territory controlled by one tax body, the organisation informs the tax body about each division at that territory. In this case the tax body issues information letter with CRR indicated. Should organisation have its divisions (newly opened included) at the territory controlled by different tax bodies, it must get registered with each tax body and receive separate certificates with TIN and CRR indicated.

Documents submitted to the tax body for registration:

• Application according to the established format

• Excerpt from the Trade Register, incorporation certificate or similar document – for initial registration

• Reference from the foreign tax body of the country of incorporation with indicated taxpayer's number (its analogue) – for initial registration

• Decision of an authorised body of the foreign organisation on creation of a division in Russia or copy of the contract serving as grounds for operations in Russia

• Power of attorney issued by the foreign organisation to the head (deputy head) of the division

• Copy of registration certificate issued by Russian tax body a foreign organisation is registered with – for registration of newly created division at the territory under the jurisdiction of a different tax body.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Special Economic Zones In Russia

Special economic zones (SEZs) are areas eligible for special business regulations and were created in 2005 with the aim of attracting investment into the regions of Russia.

Russian legislation outlines four types of special economic zones:
- Industrial and development zones 
- Technological implementation zones
- Tourist and recreational zones
- Port zones.

SEZs offer a simplified procedure of land assignment, as well as special free customs regime and a number of tax preferences for SEZ residents.

 
Russia has two industrial and development zones, four technological implementation zones and seven tourist and recreational zones. Following competitive tender results, bids have been approved for the creation of three port SEZs.

The locations of SEZs in Russia are as follows:

Technological implementation zones

- Zelenograd, Moscow
- Dubna, Moscow Region
- St. Petersburg
- Tomsk

Industrial and development zones

- Elabug (Tatarstan)
- Lipetsk

Tourist and recreational zones

- Stavropol Territory
- Zelenograd District, Kaliningrad Region
- Irkutsk Region
- Krasnodar Territory
- Altai Region, Altai Territory
- Baikal Region, Republic of Buryatia

Port zones

- Krasnoyarsk (Emelyanovo Airport)
- Ulyanovsk (Ulyanovsk-East Airport)
- Seaport in Khabarovsk Region

Friday, December 17, 2010

IPO Of Metalloinvest In 2011


Metalloinvest in 2011 will sell 20-30% of its shares by IPO. The company is ready for listing in the next year, but deployment dates depend on market conditions. Metalloinvest plans to raise $ 3.8 billion to develop the giant Udokan copper deposit in the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Metalloinvest won the competition for the right to develop Udokan in 2008. For two years the company held the first stage of exploration
on the field , and two weeks ago announced the tender for the second one.

Udokan  which
ores contain 60% of copper reserves of Russia or 20 million tons can make Metalloinvest one of the ten largest producers of nonferrous metal in the world.

Construction of infrastructure at the field should begin in 2012 and in 2014 production of at least 12 million tonnes of ore per year will be started, in 2016 - 36 million tonnes of ore per year.

The company is expected to produce 474,000 tonnes of copper per year with a fair extracting of 277 tons of silver.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

VTB Plans 2 Aquisitions In 2011: Bank Of Moscow And Transcreditbank

The second largest state bank of Russia VTB expects to buy controlling stake or 100% of the Bank of Moscow in the first half of 2011, said the Head of the bank Andrey Kostin.


In this deal he sees the "greater synergy." "We have a total of 70 retail offices in Moscow, the Bank of Moscow - 140, Sberbank of about - 700. From the standpoint of the Moscow market it will add to our group positions perhaps on other regional markets."


Kostin believes that the coming year is only two acquisitions of Transkreditbank and Bank of Moscow.

Pepsico Will Buy Russian Wimm-Bill-Dann

Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia has received a petition of the American Pepsico to buy Russia's largest producer of dairy products and drinks Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (WBD) the Deputy Head of FAS Andrei Tsyganov reported.


The deal to buy Wimm-Bill-Dann costs over $5.8 billion.  Initially, Pepsico will acquire 66% stake in Wimm-Bill-Dann from main shareholders for $3.8 billion, and then will give an offer to purchase the remaining shares.


Tsyganov said that the transaction will be considered by the government commission to monitor foreign investments at the next meeting.,The date of the committee meeting is not yet assigned, but most likely it will take place until the end of the year.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Korean Air Intends To Earn $66 Milion In Russia

South Korean carrier Korean Air by the end of 2010 plans to increase its carriage in the direction from Korea to Russia and back by 19% compared with 2009 - up to 140,000 passengers. Profit from transport is projected to increase by 40% - to $ 66 million, told the head of regional representation of airlines Kyn Hyun Lee.
Passenger traffic in the direction of Seoul - Moscow - Seoul this year will increase by 20% - up to 58 thousand people, and profits received from ticket sales in this sector will grow by 37% to  $37 million. Profit from the traffic on the route Seoul - St. Petersburg - Seoul will make 15 million dollars. In this direction will be carried 26,000 passengers, an increase by 34% relative to 2009.
Flights to Vladivostok will bring the company $14 million profit up 8% more than in 2009. Totally by the end of this year on this route will be transported 56,000 people, which is 12% more than in 2009.

In addition, Chen Kyn Lee said that Korean Air  in 2011 intends to open two weekly flights from Seoul to Irkutsk, and also perform daily flights to Moscow and to introduce year-round flights to St. Petersburg.
Currently Korean Air has three weekly flights from Seoul to Moscow, five in Vladivostok and in the summer schedule Korean Air has flights to St. Petersburg.

IBM is Ready To Create"Smart City" In Skolkovo

IBM Corporation has intention to cooperate with the innovation center Skolkovo with the project "smart city," Sales director of IBM in Eastern Europe, Andrei Tikhonov said.


One of the main directions of IBM cooperation with Skolkovo is the project "smart city," said Tikhonov on the sidelines of the All-Russian Innovation Forum "Russia! Forward!". This project was implemented by IBM in several major cities around the world. It is associated with reconstruction and modernization of urban infrastructure with radically new features and security services.


At the heart of a "smart city" there are, in particular, energy-efficient technologies.


According to the experts, Skolkovo in this respect is a very interesting target for innovation, thus it is being creating from scratch. The advantage of the newly created city is that "smart" infrastructure will not have to be build in existing urban complex, and it will be possible to apply the latest technology, said Tikhonov.


"We are working on various options for cooperation, including considering the possibility of accommodation in Skolkovo labs for software development" - he added.


Corporation IBM is one of the world's largest manufacturers of home computers, peripherals and software.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Intel Cooperation Agreement With Skolkovo



Fund Skolkovo and Intel Corporation signed Cooperation agreement on a number of target areas related to research and development, peer support for the development of effective institutions, as well as international promotion of Skolkovo.

In a festive atmosphere memorandum was signed by the President of the Fund Skolkovo Viktor Vekselberg and vice president of Sales and Marketing Group, General Manager of Operations in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) of Intel Corporation Christian Morales.


In cooperation with Skolkovo Intel will focus on various innovative developments, including the cloud, leveraging multi-core and parallel, the development of mobile platforms MeeGo. Intel also will support the assessment of projects and setting up joint laboratories with leading universities of the country. 
Intel will take an active part in the project Skolkovo


«Intel Innovation Center will be the conductor for Skolkovo into the world of the latest developments in information systems and technologies, - said President of Skolkovo Viktor Vekselberg. - Participation of corporations in the creation of a research laboratory and pilot testing center in Skolkovo will be an anchor for attracting innovators in our project. "


«Intel is a great example of how cutting-edge scientific advances can be made into very serious money. In Russia, we are deservedly recognized experts in their field, - said director general of research and development for Intel in Russia and CIS Kamil Isaev. - Participation in the project Skolkovo for us is a great opportunity to help domestic research projects to market. Russian scientists do not yet have significant experience in building successful business and we can help them. "

Friday, December 10, 2010

Joint Venture Of Siemens AG And Russian RZD

Siemens AG and Russian Railways OJSC (RZD) are opening an engineering center that will design electric trains for Russia. Working in the joint venture, German designers will share part of their technologies with Russians. The Russian authorities expect that with time the country will be able to manufacture the lion's share of components for the Sapsan express train. 
Siemens AG and RZD signed the memorandum of joint production and maintenance of state-of-the-art electric trains in Russia in July 2010. The Engineering Center will be incorporated in the joint venture. Its objectives include adaptation of design and engineering documentation to Russian conditions for the Lastochka (the Swallow) train developed on the Desiro technical platform.
The first 38 set of trains estimated at 410 million euro will be made at the German facility of Siemens AG. The Lastochka trains will come to Russia before the end of 2013. In September, the companies signed one more contract for delivery of 16 electric trains, some components (about 35%) for which will be manufactured in Russia. The manufacturing of Lastochka trains will be organized by the joint venture that will be established by spring of 2011.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Denmark's Companies Cooperation With Skolkovo Progect

On December 6, 2010 President of the Fund Skolkovo Viktor Vekselberg and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark Risdal Tom Jensen discussed the model of interaction of Skolkovo with leading research organizations and companies in Denmark, particularly in the area of energy efficiency and construction of "Green Houses" in Skolkovo.


Following the meeting, Viktor Vekselberg, said that  "This will, in fact, be the first house built in SkolkovoImplementation of this project is a continuation of the agreements reached by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in his April visit to Denmark. Our goal is to create an educational center, which will have character of a certain promotion of energy saving for the end user, as well as a platform for interaction with the Russian companies involved in urban development to extend further this experience" - he stressed.


Ambassador of Denmark in Russia noted that the Danish Government and the companies want to continue cooperation with the innovation center Skolkovo regarding the establishment of research centers"On our part, we consider this project as one of the most important, not only in terms of participation of companies, but the Danish Government". 


"Denmark 30 years worked on a program of Energy Efficiency and conservation since the energy crisis in 1973. Therefore, our country has a vast experience in such projects, and we are willing to share technology with Russia and the strategic foundation of the question, "- said Tom Jensen Risdal. In addition, the Ambassador said, Denmark has successful experience in conducting public campaigns to promote the rational and careful attitude to the power of the population, which can also be useful for Russia.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Contracted With VSMPO-Avisma

VSMPO-Avisma Corporation OJSC has entered into a long-term agreement with the American company Universal Stainless & Alloy Products. In the USA there will be facilities manufacturing rods from titanium billets produced in the Sverdlovsk Region.

In future rods will be supplied by NF&M International Inc., an American-based subsidiary of VSMPO-Avisma. In 2011 NF&M located in Monaca (state Pennsylvania) is launching new operation lines. 

The annual output will amount to about 500 tons of products - rods of small diameter (from 0.75 to 0.25 inches), wire, and straight bars with high precision tolerance. The consumers are aerospace corporations and manufacturers of medical equipment.

According to Mikhail Voevodin, General Director of VSMPO-Avisma, the market of fasteners for aerospace application is going to grow substantially in the next few years due to the increasing production of passenger aircraft involving composite materials - Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. 

At present, the demand for fasteners is estimated at 3-5 thousand tons a year.
The VSMPO-Avisma Press Service informed that NF&M International Inc. received certificates for manufacturing of titanium products for aerospace, medical and automobile industries. 

Sunday, December 5, 2010

World Cup 2018 In Russia



FIFA executive committee decided to hold the championship in 2018 in Russia. This decision is supported by 13 members of the executive committee of the 22 eligible voters.


Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in Zurich, that preparations for the World Cup 2018 will partly be financed by the Russian business, in particular, by Roman Abramovich present in the conference.

Russian billionaire owns a London football club Chelsea and according to Putin has a sponsorship of one of the Russian teams.


Foreign Experts In Skolkovo Are Not Required To Speak Russian


Foreign experts, who will work in Skolkovo, will not require knowledge of Russian. These will be the charge of translators.

Skolkovo will be a specially designated area in the suburbs of Moscow with special conditions for research and development on energy efficiency and conservation, including innovative energy technologies, nuclear technology, space technology, especially in telecommunications and navigation systems, medical and computer software technologies.

"Foreign specialists who will work in Skolkovo, will not be required knowledge of Russian language. These will be the charge of translators ", - said Konstantin Romodanovsky, adding that these specialists are first of all required to have scientific knowledge.

He added that currently creates favorable conditions for attraction in the project scientists and highly skilled professionals from abroad.