Page 8 - bne_newspaper_July_27_2018

The Regions This Week
July 27, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Eastern Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin re-entered the heated debate over whether Ukraine and Georgia should have a prospect of joining Nato. He warned Nato against cultivating closer ties with the two neighbours of Russia, saying such a policy was irresponsible and would have unspecified consequences for the alliance.
Russia's Ministry of Energy expects crude oil output in the country to grow almost 1% year- on-year in 2018 and 2019 to 551mn metric tonnes (mnt) and 555mnt, respectively, Kommersant
daily reported citing Minister of Energy Alexander Novak. "This implies a 3.5mnt increase on the previous forecast for 2018 post Opec+ agreement to increase 2H18 production by 1mnbd [mn barrels daily]," VTB Capital estimated on July 26,
Russian internet services major Mail.ru bought 20% of United Media Agency (UMA), which
owns the copyrights for the music library of the VKontakte social network controlled by Mail.ru, Kommersant daily said. UMA is also developing Boom, a music streaming app for the social network.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended the visa-free entry period from five to 30 days by special decree provided foreign nationals enter the country at Minsk airport.
In February 2017, the Belarusian authorities cancelled visa requirements for citizens of 80 countries visiting the republic for up to five days via its main airport in Minsk including the whole of the EU, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the US, Japan, and other countries.
Russian railway transportation holding RTK is preparing an IPO in Moscow for autumn 2018, citing unnamed sources in the railway and the financial markets. RTK could offer $300mn- $500mn for the placement organised by VTB Capital, JP Morgan, Sberbank CIB, and Credit Suisse. The company is preliminarily valued at RUB50bn ($800mn).
Round tripping foreign direct investment amounted to $270mn, or 10.4% of FDI to Ukraine in 2017, according to estimates of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). Round tripping is FDI
that just involves the return of domestic capital previously withdrawn from the country. To make this estimation, the regulator distinguished the flows where the ultimate controlling investor was a resident of Ukraine.
Russia made it into the top 10 list of global economies in terms of spending on science and research, with $39.9bn spent, according to a study by the Higher School of Economic (VSE) cited by Kommersant daily. The US tops the list with $511bn, followed by Canada ($452bn), Japan ($187bn) and Germany ($119bn).
The World Cup boosted the turnover of Russian carrier Aeroflot in June. The airline posted a passenger turnover increase of 9.4% year-on- year to 13.2bn in June, with both domestic and international flights showing positive dynamics.
State rail transportation monopoly Russian Railways (RZD) plans to sell its Blagosostoyanie pension fund, Reuters said citing unnamed banking and corporate sources. This is in line with previous reports claiming that RZD is shedding
its financial assets, such as its leasing subsidiary Transfin-M and Absolut Bank, both controlled by Blagosostoyanie.
Ukraine's industrial output growth slowed
to 2.2% year-on-year in June following a 2.5% y/y growth in May amid a continuing decline in mining and slower growth in manufacturing
and utilities, the Ukrstat state statistics service reported. Seasonally adjusted output inched up 0.2% month-on-month in June. In January-June, industrial output increased 2.5% y/y (vs. 2.6% y/y growth in January-May).