RUSS!A Investment Roadshow

RUSS!A Investment Roadshow
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, 20-22 April 2008

Participants in the first ever Russia Investment Roadshow were given an inside look at the impact of Russia’s increasing dominance as a global economic player, and the opportunities this creates for both foreign investors in Russia and Russian companies investing abroad.

An intensive two-day programme picked up on a variety of themes, showcasing Russia to a high profile audience of leading figures from international business, finance and the media.

The opening plenaries set the stage, with leading names in Russian and international finance talking about Russia’s resilience to the worldwide liquidity crunch and key trends to watch going forward. Speakers on the first morning included Dmitry Pankin, Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation; Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP); Hans-Joerg Rudloff, Chairman of Barclays Capital; Peter Aven, President of Alfa Bank; Hector Sants, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Authority (FSA); Alexei Gurin, President and Chief Executive Officer, CiG (CentreInvest Group), Alexander Potemkin, President, MICEX and Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman, London Stock Exchange.

They were followed by a special closing address from the Rt Hon John Hutton MP, British Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, who was introduced by Roger Munnings, head of KPMG’s operations in Russia, who also chaired the opening plenary. Mr. Hutton underscored how much trade and investment between Russia and Britain had grown.

In a session organised just after lunch on the first day in conjunction with Itogi Magazine and RSPP, Konstantin Korishenko, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, talked about the challenges facing the Russian and global economy, putting inflation at the top of the list for Russia.

The theme for the second morning was the increasing influence of Russian investment around the world, and how this is being received by the international business community. Maxim Kashulinsky chaired a lively session sponsored by KPMG, where the speakers, including Reiner Hartmann of EON Ruhrgas, Alexei Venediktov of Echo Moskvy Radio and Sir Francis Richards, Chairman of Altimo’s supervisory board, explored this phenomenon on a variety of different levels.

This was followed by a hard-hitting discussion featuring ten leading lawyers gathered from around Europe and the United States, moderated by Dmitry Afanasiyev of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, which looked at mergers and acquisitions, and the myriad of issues that Russian companies need to consider when looking to expand abroad.

On the second afternoon, there were a number of sessions designed to give international investors community a look at specific opportunities in Russia, including a roundtable of leading finance directors (organised in cooperation with Finance magazine), and RAO UES’ ‘farewell roadshow’, featuring a selection of leading players in Russia’s power sector, which is now going through the last stage of a long and ultimately very successful privatisation process. The power companies spent the day meeting investors.

Other panels included an exploration of how Russia’s image impacts on investment (together with the organisers of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum); a look at the investment climate under a new Presidential Administration (with CiG – CentreInvest Group); a discussion of the position of Russian companies on global markets (with Mikhailov & Partners); Complex Finance and Russia’s National Projects (with NOMOS-Bank) and a debate on whether the worldwide liquidity crunch has impacted on the Russian consumer (with MultiBroker).

The conference was accompanied by the annual Russian Rhapsody gala dinner and concert at Grosvenor House on 21 April, which featured world famous conductor Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bull and Bear Banquet on the evening of Tuesday 22 April, at the spectacular East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf.

The Russia Investment Roadshow was created as the new concept for Eventica’s Russian Economic Forum. It will help to take the internationally renowned conference ‘on the road’ to other business and finance capitals around the world, in addition to re-visiting London for an annual conference every spring.

Next destination is Dubai, on 3-6 November 2008. For more details, go to www.eventica.co.uk or email info@eventica.co.uk.

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