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The situation on financial markets is close to panic after the return of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, head of the YUKOS oil company, from his trip to the United States and a fruitless meeting of Arkady Volsky, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reports. “The negative attitude of investors towards political and economic tendencies in Russia has formed. The statement of Russia’s most influential businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky about large scale capital flight from Russia immediately prompted the withdrawal of billions of dollars from the country ,” an expert at a Moscow bank told RBC. According to him, on July 14 alone, the Russian stock market lost $6bn, and another $4bn were lost on July 17. Funds are being withdrawn not only from shares by also from bonds – corporate, government bonds and Eurobonds. In addition, Russian stocks are being actively sold on foreign markets.
A multi-billion deal between TNK and BP is under threat, according to the newspaper. Earlier this week, Mr. Volsky said that the British Ambassador to Russia had asked him whether BP should pull out of the deal with TNK. On Thursday, THK head Viktor Vekselberg also expressed his concern. “What is happening to YUKOS brings significant losses to Russia,” he told reporters.
In other words, if the TNK-BP deal is derailed, this will lead not only to several billion dollars in losses, but it will also ultimately destroy the investment attractiveness of the country, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes. According to analysts, the behavior of foreign investors is justified. “The withdrawal of capital from the country would be a logical step if the worst fears of market traders about the review of privatization results of the 1990s come true,” an analyst with the ATON investment company said.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
