> Russia placed $7.0 bln in three new Sovereign Eurobond issues yesterday with maturity in 2017, 2022 and 2042. Demand exceeded $25.0 bln, meaning that the placement was more than three and a half times oversubscribed.

The EBRD and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have agreed to acquire 6.29 per cent and 1.25 per cent stakes respectively in Russia’s MICEX-RTS stock exchange. The investment is part of a long-term strategy to promote the development of local capital markets in Russia and broaden the regional and international appeal of this recently unified exchange.

Dramatic structural changes have come to a head in the global economy and the socio-political structures of the world’s key countries and regions, including Russia. This is one of the conclusions that has been drawn by the speakers of The Russia Forum 2012, an event co-organised by Sberbank of Russia and Troika Dialog. As part of the discussion sessions of the first day of the event, participants talked about the main challenges that countries around the globe are facing and different ways that the global economic situation could develop: from an intensification of the recession to a rejection of the bubble economies in favour of real values.

The EBRD is providing long-term funding of EUR 120 million, including an EUR 50 million syndicated loan, to OOO Kronospan, chiefly to finance the creation of the first Russian plant producing Oriented Strand Board (OSB) at Egorievsk in Moscow Region.

The company will set up production at its existing plant at Egorievsk, one of the biggest wood-processing plants in the country, and contribute advanced manufacturing technology in the process.  OSB is an exceptionally strong wood-based panel used in the construction industry which at present has to be imported.