SocGen buys VTB’s Rosbank stake in Russia turnaround October 7, 2013 FRANCE’S Societe Generale is raising its stake in Russia’s Rosbank to above 90 per cent, betting it can turn around the troubled Russian banking unit even as rivals have quit a country where they could not compete. While players such as Citi and Austria’s Raiffeisen thrive, many have found post-Soviet Russia too hard to crack: [...]
VTB Bank in talks to sell stake in Rosbank to Societe Generale October 6, 2013 RUSSIA’S second-largest bank VTB has agreed to sell its stake of around 10 per cent in Societe Generale’s Russian unit Rosbank to the French bank, while SocGen will sell VTB a number of Russian assets, a source close to the deal told Reuters yesterday. State-controlled VTB, which bought into Rosbank in 2010, said in May [...]
Russian credit card firm plans London listing October 3, 2013 RUSSIAN credit card supplier TCS Group yesterday became the latest overseas company to tap London’s burgeoning initial public offering (IPO) market with plans to raise up to $750m (£464m) in a float. TCS, which owns top three Russian credit card issuer Tinkoff Credit Systems, said it will use the cash to help boost its expanding [...]
Letters to the Editor – 04/10 – Business growth, Stamp duty, Best of Twitter October 3, 2013 Business growth [Re: Cameron needs growth gazelles to bring life to his land of opportunity, yesterday] The Prime Minister’s gazelles will find it difficult to leap with elephants in the room. Indeed, our recent research looked in depth at certain features of over 250 companies – around 54 per cent with no serious financial issues and [...]
Where to Drink: A new opening from the owners of Bodo’s and a slice of Indian chic in the middle of Mayfair October 3, 2013 SEPTEMBER witnessed a number of high-end clubs and bars launching across London and the Westbury Hotel has bragging rights to one such venue. No 41 is nestled underneath the newly Michelin-awarded Brasserie Chavot and accessed through a street-side entrance. The nightclub is a plush amalgam of self-aware opulence, with a design scheme replete with grand [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 3 October 2013 October 2, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES FBI raid $1bn Silk Road black market US authorities have seized more than $3m worth of Bitcoins after closing down Silk Road, the online marketplace that allegedly allowed more than a billion dollars of illegal drugs and illicit services to be bought using the virtual currency. As part of the raid, the Federal [...]
Russian government sells 14pc stake in diamond miner Alrosa October 2, 2013 THE RUSSIAN government plans to sell off a 14 per cent stake in Alrosa, the state-owned diamond miner said yesterday. A Moscow public offering for the world’s largest diamond miner based on volume has been in the pipeline for over a decade, as the Russian government looks to bolster its coffers. Russian federal and regional [...]
Russia cuts stake in world’s largest diamond producer Alrosa October 2, 2013 The Russian government will be selling a 14 per cent stake in Alrosa, the world's largest diamond producer. Wargan Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Alrosa will sell an additional two per cent of shares. The deal which has been int pipeline for more than a decade is expected to be worth over £600m. The Russian [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 2 October 2013 October 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Euro banks undervalued Europe’s banks are just as strong as US rivals and are being unjustly undervalued by investors, according to the vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB) – the man in charge of setting up safety testing of the Eurozone’s banking system. Vitor Constancio’s comments come as the ECB prepares for [...]
Advanced economies lead manufacturing upturn October 1, 2013 GLOBAL manufacturing strengthened between August and September, recording marginal growth around the world in general, according to figures released yesterday. The JP Morgan purchasing managers’ index for global manufacturers, produced by Markit, came in at 51.8 for last month, up from 51.6 in August. However, advanced economies are leading the expansion, with the UK, Netherlands [...]