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.

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.

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. "

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.

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 Skolkovo. Implementation 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.

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. 

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.