Russia will build a new cosmodrome worth 810 million dollars as part of its efforts to protect its share of an increasingly competitive market space flights, said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, quoted by Reuters News Agency forward. As in Soviet times, Russia currently has a dominant role in the global space industry: in 2009, 78 launches of spacecraft in the world. Now, however, is facing increasing competition from Europe, Asia and the United States, while the aerospace market is increasingly commercialized. Baikonur “Vostochniy will be built in the Amur region in the Far East within three years. “I hope Vostochniy will become the first Russian cosmodrome in civilian use and will ensure full independence of our aerospace business,” said Putin at a meeting with representatives of the aerospace industry. Envisaged “Vostochniy” be open for unmanned flight in 2015 and flights of people in 2018 new spaceport will serve all space activity in Russia, including flights of cosmonauts, transport missiles and future missions and other planets. Russia now pays rent of $ 115 million annually to Baikonur in Kazakhstan after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 The lease expires in 2050
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Global manufacturers are planning to inject medicine over a billion dollars in Russian-made as part of its attempts to acquire the status of local producers and to circumvent the rigid position of the government to import medicines, writes Reuters. Rhythmic growth this market is a key for the corporate front lines against the backdrop of slowing sales in western markets and the loss of patent protection for many leading medicines. Relevant to the planned investment is the prospect of preferential treatment by Russia’s protectionist tuned. Russia has set itself the goal by 2012 to increase the share of domestic producers in the total sales of the medicines in the country to 25% and by 2020 it reaches 50% from current 20 per cent. The acquisition of status “local player” by building or buying factories in the country is so global companies to gain access to the expected strong growth in a time when the government plans to limit imports, sources of comment on Wednesday. It is expected that this year Russia with its 140-million population reported double-digit percentage growth in its pharmaceutical market, according to industry analysts, against an estimate of 4-6 percent for the sector globally.
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Raiffeisen International Bank Holding AG may sell units in Russia and Ukraine in the event that the financial company had to strengthen its capital base and reserves with which to cover possible losses from bad loans to its subsidiaries. This forward Moskow News, quoted the Chairman of Raiffeisen International Christian Conrad, the Austrian group that is ready to give up control over their Russian and Ukrainian banks. Raiffeisen International is one of the largest foreign banks in Russia and owner of Raiffeisen Russia in Russia and Raiffeisen Bank Aval in Ukraine. According to Christian Conrad final decision will depend on whether and how much will have to increase the reserves of the subsidiaries of the Bank’s bad loans. By Raiffeisen International also stated that there are several possible scenarios for the development of the group in the future, one provides its teams in Russia and Ukraine to be sold through initial public offering (IPO). In February, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich, which is one of the largest cooperative banks in Austria and Raiffeisen International announced plans for a possible merger. Raiffeisen International is a public company in which 70% of capital held by Raiffeisen Zentralbank, the rest are traded freely within the Austrian Stock Exchange. The main market is Raiffeisen International Central and Eastern Europe, the bank is represented in 17 countries in the region.
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Italy will use the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to expand ties with Russia, including a possible deal for the production of Chrysler models from Fiat SpA in the country as part of a “strategic partnership” between the two countries. Fiat and Russian automaker Sollers “discuss important investments for the production of cars carrying the production of Chrysler in Russia,” said Italian Industry Minister Claudio Skayola, cited by Bloomberg. Fiat has a controlling stake in U.S. company. It is envisaged that more transactions to be concluded between Finmeccanica SpA and Sukhoi aviation holding company, and between Eni SpA and Gazprom for pipeline project South Stream. Italy has long been cooperating with Moscow, which has earned both profitable contracts, and criticism from its NATO partners. (more…)

Germany’s automobile concern Daimler, which manufactures trucks with the brand Mercedes-Benz, expanding its cooperation with Russia. The company will sign a contract with the Russian KAMAZ automobile holding company set up a joint venture, reported Reuters, citing information from the German company with headquarters in Stuttgart. The aim is not only the production of trucks with the brand Mercedes, but to offer the Russian market with the brand and buses Setra. Reminiscent of the German concern that in December last year, Daimler acquired 10 percent of the capital of Kamaz. “In the beginning will produce spare parts and only assemble Mercedes-Benz trucks in Russia,” said a representative of KAMAZ Oleg Afanasiev, quoted by Itar-Tass.
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The growth of Russian economy in 2010 will be 3.9 percent of recent estimates show Bank of America. This is an upward revision from the previous forecast of 2.4 to increase the country’s GDP. The new estimate is based on higher fuel prices, which are among the main export goods to Moscow, and the government provided incentives. For the second quarter of this year the country reported the largest decrease in its gross domestic product – 10.9% annually after the first quarter the economy shrank by 9.5%. In July, the IMF forecast economic growth of Russia with 1.5 percent for next year and a decline of 6.5 percent for this.
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Largest steel producer Severstal reported a loss of 290 million dollars for the second quarter, forward Bloomberg. Over the same period last year, the company made a profit of 1.5 billion dollars. Most of them are generated by the North American division of a company – 236 million dollars. This will lead to a restriction of certain manufacturing processes there, the company said in the circulation to the media. The decline in sales is 54% to 2.85 million. Despite the negative news the company’s shares rose by 2.1 rubles, or 1 percent to 206 rubles. Since the beginning of the year the company doubled its market capitalization, currently it is estimated at 6.6 billion dollars.
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Russia’s government approved the Energy Strategy of the country by 2030, said Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko. According to the document in 2030 Russia needs to export 329 million tons of oil and 349-368 billion cubic meters of gas annually, and to yield 530-535 million tons of oil and 880-940 billion cubic meters of gas, the minister said, quoted by the Russian newspaper “Vedomosti” quoted by Focus Agency. To achieve these benchmarks are intended to be consumed 60 trillion rubles (1.89 trillion dollars), of which 90 percent must come from private investment. Under the new concept is to increase reserves and exports of oil and natural gas. Will increase and the share of alternative energy sources. The former concept was to the government in 2020 and was adopted was adopted five years ago. According Shmatko amid the global economic crisis had to make substantial repairs to the main indicators.
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The closure of the Cherkizovskiy market in Moscow in June 2009 tighten the relations between China and Russia because the market was a major center for the sale of counterfeit goods imported from China. The market remained Chinese goods worth 5 billion dollars. The Chinese authorities clearly expressed its concern, because 70 percent of the hundred thousand people working in the market, were citizens of China. Russia and China reached a consensus and develop a common plan and to combat the informal economy, said Deputy Minister of Commerce PRC Gao Huchen after negotiations with Moscow authorities. For its part Moscow mayoralty authorities agreed with the delegation of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for the construction of a new mall at the site of the capital market Cherkizovskiy.
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The Russian Ministry of Transport and the largest construction company in the world Vinci signed concession contract to build the first part of the highway connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg. The contract is worth 60 billion ruble (2 billion dollars), the company will begin work on the first 43 kilometers of the route next year. The document was signed by Anatoly Chabunin, Minister of Transport and Louis-Roh Burgar, operational director of the division of Vinvi in concessions. Willingness of the government is 626 km route, which has a high-speed section from the center of Moscow to the distant suburbs, to be completed by 2015 by providing cost him to reach 600 billion ruble (20 billion dollars).
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