Business Watch
Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS) subsidiary Strauss Coffee BV has acquired full ownership of Russia's Le Café and Instanta, after buying a further 49% in the companies for $13.4 million. Strauss said that the transaction would be financed by Strauss Coffee's own resources and that it was subject to approval by the Russian antitrust authority.
San Jose networking-equipment company Cisco Systems (CSCO) has acquired a small stake in Russian software developer Parallels, Parallels said on Thursday.
Russia has moved up 5 points in the rating for economic freedom but remained pretty low in the overall list. It sits in 139th place out of 185 countries, and is classified as “mostly unfree”.
The business climate for SME’s in Russia is experiencing positive development according to Sergey Borisov, the president of Opora Russia, the largest SME union in country, quoted by the Russia Local monthly newsletter. In the last five years administrative procedures for registering a new business became significantly easier and cheaper. The amount of complaints associated with taxation and federal inspection fell by more than 50%.
President Vladimir Putin appointed Business Russia lobby group leader Boris Titov as ombudsman for entrepreneurs' rights, he said on Thursday. "As a result of consultations with business society, it was decided to appoint Boris Titov as the federal ombudsman," Putin said. Titov will safeguard the rights of both Russian and foreign entrepreneurs in his new role.
The Associatiojn of European Business in Russia (AEB) Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Committee has launched of an SME HELPDESK service. Starting from today, March 12, 2012 all AEB small and medium member companies and entrepreneurs can benefit from the SME Committee’s practical advice, support and direct access to the wealth of knowledge and relevant expertise within the SME Committee whose members have considerable experience doing business in Russia.