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COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Russian coronavirus financial support sluggish
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 14 Apr 2020

Russian banks are rejecting many appeals for financial support from businesses. Government programs allow assistance to such businesses. On April 10 the Governor of the Russian Central Bank (CBR) said that issuance of loans under these scheme was slow. She asked banks to hurry up. 900 companies h...

Belarus nuclear power station to open
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 13 Apr 2020

On April 12 Belarus announced that a nuclear power station will open in July 2020. The Energy Minister said it will only start generating electricity in September or October. The power station is close to the border with Lithuania. Lithuania strenuously objects to the power station saying it is a...

Kazakh ruling family's UK property declared legal
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 11 Apr 2020

A London court has ruled in favor of the Kazakh leader's family on April 8. The Nazarbayev family has over GBP 100 million worth of property in the United Kingdom. Nursultan Nazarbayev has the title 'Leader if the Nation' in Kazakhstan - he retired as president in 2019. The National Crime Agency ...

Russian State buys majority of Sberbank
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 11 Apr 2020

On April 10 the Russian State purchased a majority stake in Sberbank which is the biggest of all banks in Russia. The State bought it from the Russian Central Bank. The deal cost USD 28.5 billion. The price is based on the average share price of Sberbank in March 2020. Almost all the shares have ...

Russian Government predicts prolonged recession
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 09 Apr 2020

On April 6 RBK published a summary of the Kremlin's two stress testes that it has developed to estimate the financial robustness of 646 firms which the government considers strategically important. The rosier of the two scenarios says that the quarantine will last into June 2020 and Urals oil wil...

Russian consumer spending drops dramatically
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 09 Apr 2020

Consumer spending in Russia has fallen by 33% in a month. This is due to the lockdown.Non-working started on March 28 and will continue to the end of April. From March 28 to April 5. VTB account holders spend 33% less than usual. Sberbank account holders spent 23% less than the same period in 201...

Ukraine banking bill stalled
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Apr 2020

On April 7 politicians in the Ukrainian Parliament proposed 16 000 amendments to the banking law known as the 'anti-Kolomoisky bill'. The amendments seemed intended to stymie the legislative process. They will take at least weeks to debate. Ihor Kolomoisky used to own PrivatBank which was nationa...

Some Russian internal borders closed due to coronavirus
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Apr 2020

Some Russian regions have closed their borders to other regions. Murmansk and Chechnya are among those. Goods are allowed to be moved but passengers are not. This ban on inter-regional travel will hurt the economy even more. However, if a lockdown is strict then a region stands a better chance of...

EBRD financing a Russian company
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Apr 2020

On April 7 it was announced that European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD ) was financing a Russian company for the first time since 2014. This finance is from its emergency coronavirus support fund. EBRD has always kept an office in Moscow because it has a portfolio with some compan...

Russia orders restrictions on grain exports
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Apr 2020

On April 2 Russia legally limited the amount of grain that can be exported. This will apply to wheat, maize, barley, rye and a mixture of them called meslin. Only 7 million tonnes of the foregoing can be exported. The export limits exclude Kazakhstan and Belarus since they are in a customs union ...

Foreigners selling Russian federal bonds
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 04 Apr 2020

On April 2 data from the Russian Exchange showed foreigners were dumping Russian federal bonds (OFZs). Over USD 3.5 billion worth were sold in March. This is the biggest sell off of any month ever. It is more than twice the sell off of June 2018 caused by US sanctions. This is due to the fear eng...

Ukraine struggles with coronavirus
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 03 Apr 2020

On April 3 Ukraine announced that coronavirus cases rose 138 in one day. The total is now 942. Only 4400 tests have been carried out in a country of 40 million. Therefore the true coronavirus figure is perhaps much higher. On April 3 a new regulation forbade people from going outside without a ma...

Russian oil price rock bottom as Rosneft leaves Venezuela
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 02 Apr 2020

On April 2 Russian Urals oil fetched USD 18 per barrel. This is the lowest price for several years. Brent crude is selling at up to USD 36 per barrel. Oil exports from Russia are barely making a profit. Rosneft spend USD 5 to produce and refine a barrel of oil. However, tax, export duty and trans...

Russia allots USD 18 billion to fight coronavirus
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 01 Apr 2020

On March 31 Prime Minister Mishustin announced that USD 18 billion has been put aside to spend on COVID-19. Lockdowns in Moscow and St Petersburg have been tightened. In the rest of the country they laxer - though a state of emergency means regions have more power to act, and Moscow is sharing te...

Ukrainian land reform
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 01 Apr 2020

On March 31 the Ukrainian Parliament passed the land market bill. However, it is not as extensive as President Zelensky had wanted. The bill only allows an individual or company to buy parcels of up to 100 hectares at a time. Communal and state land cannot be sold under the new bill. State land i...

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