Go East: Russia wages Asia charm offensive amid sanctions

[CityFarmer]

China continue to benefit from standoff between Russia and the West, together with other Asian peers...

Go East: Russia wages Asia charm offensive amid sanctions

MOSCOW — Following the Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the beleaguered economy is looking eastwards to woo investments from Asia, including Singapore, to keep itself afloat.

It is planning to build 14 accelerated special economic zones (SEZs) in Russia’s largely undeveloped Far East region within the next two years, as part of efforts to bolster ties with Asia as its relationship with Europe and the United States falters.

The accelerated zones — as the name suggests — will differ from Russia’s existing SEZs in that they allow for a speedier pace of development, enabling companies to build their business within two years from which they decide to set up shop in the zones.

“This is impossible now,” Russia’s Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East, Mr Maxim Shereykin, told reporters last week on the sidelines of the Moscow International Forum for Innovative Development, Open Innovations. “(Now) it is difficult, linked with land plots, infrastructure, permissions,” he said

With the accelerated SEZs, the infrastructure will be completed before investors arrive at the site, Mr Shereykin elaborated. Russia will also provide a one-stop service for investors that will “combine authorities from the federal level, from regional levels, from a municipal level … at one organisation responsible for the accelerated SEZs. It makes the projects easier and quicker”, he added.

Mr Shereykin said by the first half of next year, the government will develop the strategy on the best use of land plots and projections. By 2015 to 2016, infrastructure will be built.

THE SINGAPORE CONNECTION

Russia is interested in attracting foreign direct investments from South Korea, Japan and China — in that order — but is also looking to other Asian countries such as Singapore.
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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/go-...-sanctions

[specuvestor]

That is why US has to establish presence and influence. Now it's payback time so unlikely Japan, South Korea or even Singapore will be involved.

[corydorus]

Is shortsighted to trust and invest into Russia. You will have to bow to them after putting your Billions of investment into their lands.

[mulyc]

Policy there could flip-flop like roti prata. Macham like in JB.

[CityFarmer]

The sanctions will continue...

Obama, EU leaders agree to put more costs quickly on Russia if needed over Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama and his European counterparts agreed on Tuesday to act quickly to impose additional costs on Russia if peace agreements in the Ukraine conflict were not implemented.

"The leaders expressed their hope for the successful and complete implementation of the Minsk agreements and agreed that the easing of current sanctions would be linked to the full implementation of these agreements," the White House said in a statement.

"They also affirmed their determination to act quickly and in unison to impose significant additional costs, if serious violations of the Minsk agreements occur or if Russian-backed separatists seek to gain new territory." REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/world/obama-e...er-ukraine

[sgd]

I see they trying to drain the russian treasury as much as they can - possible prelude to a future conflict.

All wars outcome are mostly about money whichever side has more money to throw into the grinder wins once the fighting start everything goes up minimum 3-4 times the usual price I read during the Iraq / Iran war one european supplier sold to Iran airplane tyres at 9 times the usual price.

In the beginning it looks good to have army with hundreds of state of the art fighter jets tanks ships thousands of well trained troops but once fighting starts attrition rises how fast you can replace these losses and keep going and the first side to run out of money is the loser.

Americans in past have been winning all the time is not because their troops are better or equipment better but because they can keep printing money to buy things but this time will they outlast the russians before the ink runs out?

[CityFarmer]

Islamic financing is one of the Russian options in the east...

Facing sanctions, Russian banks look to build Islamic finance know-how
BY BERNARDO VIZCAINO AND ALEXANDER WINNING
SYDNEY/MOSCOW Mon Feb 9, 2015 12:49am EST

(Reuters) - Russian banks are developing their expertise in Islamic finance to help broaden funding sources for local firms, though Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and the absence of a regulatory framework could hinder those efforts.

Russia's Islamic banking sector is still in its infancy. But an estimated 20 million Muslims living in the country are a potential source of money, as are cash-rich Islamic funds abroad.

Islamic finance has become a mainstream funding source for some other governments and companies over the past several years, with even non-Muslim nations such as Britain and South Africa issuing debut Islamic bonds (sukuk) last year.

However, the European Union and the United States are seeking to cut overseas funding to Russian firms over Moscow's support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. Banks in the Middle East and southeast Asia, the major markets for sharia-compliant debt, are wary of becoming tangled in the sanctions.

So some Russian lenders are trying to build their own in-house knowledge of Islamic finance.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/0...DU20150209