Information is the oxygen of the modern age – Russian IPOs - RIP

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARCHIVES OF MY BLOG

I do hope that some scholars and businesspeople will find certain information that can be used these days. I have published a total of 105 posts.

 Interesting to note: I was employed at FINAM - the biggest stock broker in Russia. At that time NO ONE was publishing ANY Blogs in English about the Russian Equity Financing (do not know what is the current situation). During my stay with FINAM, NOT A SINGLE PERSON from the company was interested and even acknowledged the fact (even FINAM's high quality Analyst Department). Despite that, I witnessed a flow of visitors (listed below) and was invited to run the Financial Page at The Russia Blog. After I was notified that FINAM does not care for Equity Financing, I moved to other business - those interested may look at my archive of Global Mining & Financial Issues Blog - the one that was more popular (and after I recently started its revival - more people are reading and commenting).

Anyways, here is the final post

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUGUST 22, 2007

 

Information is the oxygen of the modern age – Russian IPOs - RIP

Private information is practically the source of every large modern fortune

 Oscar Wilde

Now it is 8 months since my blog exists. I think my experiment is to a certain level a success. This shows the updated list of the corporate servers that generated visitors to my pages in these months.

Interesting observation – I have not posted much in August but still the visitors are coming. That surprises me much and shows that there still a niche that is not much filled.

And here is the latest updated list of those who read.

Academy Of National Economy, Accenture, Agefi, Agora Inc., Aig Brunswick Capital Management, Alba Aliance Bank, Alegro Capital Ltd., Alfa-bank Moscow Russia, Allen And Overy, American Capital Strategies Ltd., American International Group, Ask Jeeves Inc., Associated Press, Atherton And Associates Inc., Atlantic Broadband Finance Llc., Aton Moscow, Baillie Gifford & Co., Balanoff & Balanoff, Banco Santander Totta S.a., Bank Of Finland, Bank Of New York Europe, Bank One Columbus Na, Bank Slaski S.a. W Katowicach, Banque Meespierson Bgl Sa, Banque Nationale De Paris, Banque Nationale De Paris – Bn, Barclays Capital, Baring Vostok Capital Partners, Bear Stearns Security, Ben Scole Financial Inc., Bigdough, Bloomberg Financial Market, Boston-Consulting, Brandsmiths Ltd., British Broadcasting Corporation, British Sky Broadcasting Ltd., Broadcast Company TV-news, Brunswick Investment, Bryan Cave Mcpheeters & Mcrobe, Bulgarian Government Network, Ca IB International Markets Ltd., Cariverona Banca Spa, Carnegie Mellon University, Cartesian Capital Group, Cdc Group Plc, Chadbourne-parke, Charlemagne Capital Ltd. , Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. , Chivas Brothers Ltd. , Chris Fowler International Ltd., Citadel Investment Group, Citic Capital Markets Holdings, Citicorp Global Information Network, City Of Lodon Investment Mgmt, Clearwire Llc, Clifford Chance, Cogeco Cable Canada Inc., Commercial Bank Rosbank, Compass advisers llp., Computasoft Ltd., Control Risks Corp., Cowen & Co., Credit Lyonnais Rusbank Moscow, Credit Suisse Group, Creo Products Inc., Cushman & Wakefield Stiles & R., D. E. Shaw & Co., Dagbladet Brsen A/s, Daimlerchrysler Ag, Dell Computer Corporation, Deloitte And Touche UK, Deloyt.Moscow, Denizbank A.s., Deutsche Bank, Dexia Banque Internationale, Dexia Credit Local, Dion (kddi Corporation, Doc-international Trade Admin, Dow Jones-telerate,,Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Dresdner-kleinwort-benson, Eastman Kodak Company, EBRD, Electric Lightwave Inc., Energis Uk, Ernst And Young Llp., Ernst&young (cis) B.v ., Eton Park Capital Ltd., Eurasiagroup, Euromoney Institutional Investors, Export Import Bank Of The U.S., Farallon Capital Mgmnt, Farner Pr Und Consulting Ag, Fascinations Toys And Gifts, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp./, Fiberaccess Benq Europe B.v. S, Fidelity Investments, Financial Dynamics Inc. , Financial Services Authority, Flextronics International Sweden, Focus Tv Produktions Gmbh., Foote Cone & Belding Communications, Fortress Investment Group Llc., Garantibank Moscow , General Electric Company, Genesys Inc., Gga Maur Ebmatingen, Glencore International Ag, Global Diachirisi Kefalaion Ae, Global Sage Ltd., GMD Solutions, Inc. , Gni Limited, Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs Company, Google Inc., Government Of Singapore Invest, Grand-tornton-trid, Green.ch Ag Brugg Switzerland, Greenwich Capital Markets Inc., Gustav W. Rogge Gmbh & Co. Kg , Hagstromer & Qviberg Fondkomis, Hansabank Ltd., Harro Hoefliger Verpackungsmas, Harvard University, Hemscott Plc Company, Hilton Hospitality Inc., Hoare Govett ABN, Hoare Govett Services, Hogg Robinson Financial Services, Hq Global Workplaces Inc., Hsbc Bank Plc Uk), Hsbc Bank Usa, Hsh Nordbank, Hughes Electronics, HypoVereinsbank, Ibm Corporation, Icg Berane, Icicibank Ltd India, Imperial Energy Corporation, Inceptamarketintelligence, Information Brooker, Ing-group, Intellispace Inc., Intern Inst For Strategic Studies, International Finance Corporation, International Monetary Fund, Investment Technology Group, Japan Bank For Intern Cooperation, Japan Trade And Investment Ins, Johns Hopkins University , Jones Lang Lasalle, JPMorgand, Kazimir Partners Uk, Kbc Bankverzekeringsholding, Kbc Financial Products Uk , Kempen & Co, Keyhaven-capital-partners, Kinkos Inc., Kissingermclartyassociates, Knight-frank, Kpmg Moscow, Lazard Freres , Lehman Brothers , Liberty Business Advisors, Library Of Congress Information Service, Linebrook Ltd., London Business School, London School Of Economics, London Stock Exchange, Louis Dreyfus Corp., M-m-planet-retail, M. M. Warburg Bank, Marcus Millichap Real Estate, Mastercard International Llc , McKee Nelson, Mckinsey & Company Inc., Mcube Investments Technologies, Meinlbank_vienna, Mellon Bank, Merrill Lynch And Company Inc., Metro Ag Koeln, Microsoft Corp., Midas Fondsmaeglerselskab A/s, Mint capital, Mission Capital Advisors Llc., Mizuho Corporate Bank, Mks Inc., Mmdpr, Moore Capital Management Inc., Morgan Stanley Group Inc.,, Moscow Narodny Bank Limited, Muenchener Rueckversicherungs , Nasdaq Stock Market, Nat West Bank Group, Natexis Metals, Netscape Communications Corp, Network Of Associated Press, Network Of Ibm E-business Host, Nicholas Hall Co., Nikoil Ibg E-commerece, Nomura International Hong Kong, Nomura International Plc., Nomura Securities, Nordea, Northland Cable Television , NYSE, Oaktree Capital, Octagon Capital Corp., Ogilvy & Mather Inc., Oliver Wyman & Co, Omni Offices Inc., Onvista Media Gmbh, OPEC, OTP Bank Hungary, Overseas Private Investment Co., Oxford University, Pacific Crest Securities Inc., , Painewebber Group Inc., Pccw Limited, Peterhambro, Petra Holdings Llc., Pfc Energy, Piper & Marbury L.l.p., Polo Ralph Lauren L.p., Polymetall Uk, Precision Castparts Corp., Price Waterhouse, Pricewaterhause-coopers MOW, Princeton University, Quintiles Uk, RADIO FREE EUROPE, Raiffeisen Zentralbank, Raymond James Financial Inc., Real Estate Board Of New York, Regus Management Limited, Renova Management Ag., Rete Pubblica Della Banca Di Roma, Rogers Cable Inc. Bloor , Roland Berger Strategy Consulting, Rose Partnership, Rosemount Capital, Royal Bank Of Canada, Royal Bank Of Scotland, Royal Institute Of Naval Architects, Rusal Hq , Sac Capital, Salomon Inc., Sandler O'Neill, Savannah College Of Art, Savv-allen-overy, Scansafe Inc., Scherer Investments Inc., Schweizerische Effekten-giro, Shanghai Commercial & SavBnk, Siemens Ag , Sita-societe Internationale De, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Spencer Stuart, St. Louis University, Standard Bank (asia) Ltd., Stanford University Network, State Bank Of India, Sterling Publishing Group Plc., Susquehanna Investment Group, Swedish Tax Administration, Swiss Federal Government, Swiss National Bank, T. Rowe Price International Inc., Tbih (rus), The Bank Of New York, The Chase Manhattan Bank, The Chase Manhattan Bank N.a., The Dow Chemical Company, The Economist, The George Washington University, The Mining Journal, The St. Louis Trust Company, The Supreme Court Of The Us, The World Bank Group, The World Bank Group, Thomas Murray Ltd., Thomson Financial, Thomson Information Services, Tufts University, Ubs Ag , Ubs-lon-pd, Unaxis Balzers Ag, Unicredito Italiano Spa, United Partners Tallinn, Unity Bank, University Of Houston, Us Courts – Dcn Colocation, Us Venture Partners, Valley National Bank, Vtx Services Sa, Wainwright Investment Counsel, Wakefern Food Corporation, Warsaw Stock Exchange, washingtonspeakers.com, Welch Capital Partners Llc, Westhouse-securities-llp, White and Case, Wiener Boerse Ag, Zwirn Capital Management

Russian IPOs – Review of 23rd Week of 2007

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 11, 2007

Russian IPOs – Review of 23rd Week of 2007

Rhetoric and Investments

This week there had been a lot of things going on regarding investments in Russia and associated discussions. Political rhetoric added more fuel to it. Richard Shaw (QVM Group) posted “Investing in Russia: The Good News and the Bad” . While analyzing positive factors Mr. Shaw ends with: “The big gains in the Russian stock market could well be more history than future. The political risks to your wealth in Russia are much greater now than they were perceived to be a few years ago.” The Motley Fool posted notes by Zoe Van Schyndel “Russian Bear or Bull?” that also chides: "Russia is an emerging economy which, a decade ago, was nearly bankrupt. A lot has changed since then, but whether the opportunities in the Russian market are outweighed by the risks is a tough decision at this point. If oil prices stay at their lofty levels, this market is a safer bet, but if oil drops significantly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near this bear.” In my view, more realistic was CNBC discussion on June 7 on investing in Russia. Ian Hague, Firebird Management LLC fund manager, admits that tensions between the U.S. and Russia have had an impact on investor sentiment, but advises that investing in the Russian market requires a long-term commitment just the same. Investors are focusing on the wrong thing: "Political rhetoric in Russia has less of an impact on the conduct of business as you might think." Alexander Kliment, an associate in Eurasia Group's Europe and Asia Practice, spoke at the "Power Lunch" to dispel investor anxiety. He describing global business and politics as "two different voices" -- and the "political noise" hasn't dampened investors' "bullish interest." Surprisingly, he said even foreign energy companies are interested in Russia -- despite Putin having nationalized many energy assets and producers like oil giant Yukos, and the Russian government jailing Yukos' ex-CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky. I completely agree with all this, and want to add more. Those who are here in Russia do know amore about the investment sentiments and they have a good opportunity to judge the situation by themselves – this far more reasonable than trying to understand Russia from Miami or Washington D.C. Just this week’s example - Coca-Cola intends to invest roughly $1.5 billion in its Russia’s projects in the following five to eight year.

Venture and IT Financing News

The Russian Government is seriously changing its attitude to financing of venture companies. A very descriptive article is presented by VentureBeat where one of the Russian officials describes the new efforts being made recently. To this end it is relevant to mention the results of the public poll that was conducted by FINAM INVESMENT COMPANY at the Web site:

- 65.1% of investors replied that they are interested in investments in the Russian IT sector, while only 18% showed their negative attitude

- 64.1% are ready to invest buying stock; while direct investments and staring the companies are not very popular.

In general IT sector shows extensively good growth tempo, however, so far there are virtually no companies at the public market. Many investors look for “the Russian Google” to invest into, but, I guess it is still too early. This is double sided picture – negative, if you think about absence of issuers; and positive when you think about prospects of entering the market by new players. We still do not see many public IT companies – in April both MICEX and RTS started trading stock of ARMADA, and only next week the first issuer for the MICEX’s Innovative and Growth Sector (“Russian AIM”) is launched – this is the FINAM-IT Venture Unit Fund.

New Face on the Banking Market

Bank of Cyprus was granted a license to operate in Russia. This is the first bank from Greece and Cyprus that entered the Russian banking market. Initially the bank’s activities will be focused on establishing of the credit portfolio and expansion of its services scope for existing corporate clients. Bank of Cyprus will work primarily in Moscow and St.Petersburg. According to the Russian regulations within two years after registration the bank has no sight to work in retail sector. It officials confirmed that they plan their expansion to Ukraine and Romania.

More Private Funds

UNEXIM GROUP Private Investment Fund was formed at the end of May in Moscow. The fund is based on the assets of Mikhail Prokhorov, who is the partner of Vladimir Potanin, President of the «Interros» Company. Prokhorov owns 22% of NORNICKEL, 22% of POLYUS and 50% of INTERROS that he values at $ 17 billion. UNEXIM GROUP will focus on innovation high-tech projects in energy (including hydrogen), nanotechnology and in mining and metallurgical sector. Each of investment projects for the group’s portfolio shall be valued at least $1 billion.

Russian IPOs – More to Come

According to Elena Khisamova, Vice-President of Deutsche Bank Russia, the Russian companies would attract from IPOs in 2007 three times more than in 2006 – up to $ 44 billion. According to Ms Khisamova this year Russian companies raised about $22 billion; $ 15.4 billion goes to foreign listings (12 companies), $ 6.5 billion – listings at domestic markets (4 companies). There is also a projection from Eversheds law firm in London that around 70 Russian companies are currently queuing up to list in London. Some of these companies will never make it to market while some will float on the main exchange and a good proportion are likely to make it on to AIM. Eversheds is currently working on 2 prospective AIM floats from Russia and they note that half the companies waiting to list are active in the utilities sector, while the remainders range from media companies to chemicals producers.

Here is the latest update from Business & Financial Markets on 10 latest IPOs.

	Exchange	Currency	IPO Date	Price at date of IPO	Price as of June 08, 2007	Change, per cent
PIK Group	LSE	USD	05/31/07	25.000	23.379	-6.48
ROSINTER	RTS	USD	05/31/07	32.000	35.400	+10.63
RTM	RTS	USD	05/22/07	2.300	0.00	0.00
DIXIE Grp.	RTS	USD	05/18/07	14.400	13.950	-3.13
VTB additional	MICEX	RUR	05/14/07	0.136	0.143	+5.07
PHARMSTANDART	RTS	USD	05/03/07	58.200	62.000	+6.53
NUTRINVESTHOLDING	RTS	USD	04/27/07	53.000	46.750	-11.79
VOLGA GAS	AIM	GBP	04/25/07	299.000	298.000	+0.33
SBERBANK	MICEX	RUR	02/22/07	89,0000	94,000	+5.62
INTEGRA (GDRs)	LSE	USD	02/21/07	16.755	18.815	+12.33

Source: Business & Financial Markets

New Announcements

• KIT FINANCE Investment Bank – IPO on MICEX in 2007 and LSE in 2008
• Arsagera Asset Management – IPO in 2007
• URALSIB BANK – IPO sometime before 2009
• INVESTTORGBANK - IPO at the end of 2008
• Sukhoi Civil Aircraft – IPO after 2010
• Euroset mobile handset retailer – listing on RTS in autumn 2007; IPO in 2008
• LSR Group, a St. Petersburg construction firm - IPO in November 2007
• Far East Energy Company – mulls IPO in the nearest future
• MAX Insurance Company – IPO in 2011
• SISTEMA MASS-MEDIA – IPO in 2009
• ST Group, developer company – IPO in May 2008 on LSE
• Aeroflot Russian Airlines - IPO in the near future