17 June 2004 04:13
Daily Headline News for June 17, 2004
The following is a digest of headline news as of 5:30 p.m. on June 17, 2004: PUTIN SAYS GOVT NOT INTERESTED IN
BANKRUPTING YUKOS
President Vladimir Putin said the government did not want Yukos to go bankrupt, sending Yukos shares soaring.
Yukos," Putin told reporters in Tashkent on Thursday. "The
government will try to ensure that this company does not go
"The Russian administration, government and economic authorities are not interested in bankrupting a company
like
bankrupt," he said.
"The legal proceedings [of the Yukos case] are a separate thing. And the judicial authorities should be talking
about it as the trial unfolds," he said.
The Russian Trading System (RTS) suspended trading with Yukos shares at 5:00 p.m., Moscow time, until the end of
trading at 6:00 p.m., after the price surged 12.08% from its opening price to an average of $7.32, which exceeds the 10%
restriction in the exchange's regulations.
Budget revenues are forecast at 3,103.3 billion rubles, or
17.2% of GDP and expenditures at 2,916.3 billion rubles or
MICEX suspended trading with Yukos shares at 5:10 p.m. Moscow time, for one hour. Yukos jumped 32.2% on the MICEX to
240 rubles, but then began to slide. RUSSIAN GOVT. APPROVES BASIC STATEGY FOR 2005 DRAFT BUDGET
The Russian government at its Thursday meeting approved the basic strategy for a draft 2005 federal budget with a
surplus of 1% of GDP.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the draft budget should be submitted to the government on August 12, and Cabinet
will likely consider it on August 19.
16.1% of GDP. RUSSIA'S GDP UNLIKELY TO DOUBLE BY 2010 - GREF
The dynamics of Russia's development in 2004 and 2005 give no reason to believe that the country's GDP will
double by 2010, Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref told a briefing after a government session.
RUSSIA'S GDP TO GROW BY 6.6% IN 2004
Russia's GDP is expected to grow by 6.6% and industrial output by 6.3% in 2004, Economic Development and Trade
Minister German Gref told a Thursday Cabinet meeting as he was presenting a forecast for the country's
development.
If incomes continue to grow at the current rate, the amount of people under the poverty line will decrease to 11% -
12% from the 20% figure in 2003, he said.
The Federal State Statistics Service reported on Wednesday that Russia's GDP increased by 7.4% in the first
quarter of 2004 against the same period last year and industrial production rose 7% year-on-year in January-May. MOST
LIKELY OIL PRICE IN 2005 $26 PER BARREL - GREF
The Russian government forecasts that oil prices will be about $26 per barrel in 2005, Economic Development and Trade
Minister German Gref said at a government meeting Thursday.
"According to conservative estimates, this figure may amount to $20.5," Gref said.
He said lack of pipeline capacity, which is holding back growth in oil exports, may e resolved in three years.
RUSSIA'S FIVE CORE SECTORS POST GROWTH OF 7.7% IN JAN-MAY
Production and services output in the five key Russian sectors (industry, agriculture, construction, transport and
retail) increased 7.7% year-on-year in January-May 2004, the Federal State Statistics Service reported Thursday. LUKOIL
HOLDING SALE TALKS WITH CONOCOPHILLIPS
Managers at Russian oil major Lukoil are holding talks with U.S. company ConocoPhillips regarding the sale of shares
in the Russian company, Lukoil Vice President Sergei Kukura told Interfax.
The Russian government plans to sell its 7.59% stake in Lukoil by the end of this year.
At the start of June, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref and ConocoPhillips President James Malva
discussed a possible share acquisition. KUDRIN AGAINST RAISING FOREIGN BORROWING
Russia should not increase foreign borrowing given the growth in revenue due to oil prices, Finance Minister Alexei
Kudrin said at Thursday's Cabinet meeting.
The Finance Ministry is suggesting that Russia shelve Eurobond issues this year, but place up to $2.5 billion in new
paper in 2005, Kudrin said. The government had planned to raise $2.7 billion with Eurobond issues in 2004. Foreign debt
servicing will total 261 billion rubles in 2004 and 255 billion rubles in 2005, he said. RUSSIAN-CHINESE TRADE TURNOVER
MAY REACH $20 BILLION IN 2004
Russian-Chinese trade turnover may reach $20 billion by the end of this year, Chinese President Hu Jintao said during
a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tashkent on Thursday. EMERGENCIES SAID TO WIPE OUT NEARLY THIRD OF
RUSSIA'S GDP
Experts believe that the damage caused by emergencies in the country totals nearly one-third of the country's
GDP, Vladimir Puchkov, a top Emergencies Ministry official, told a Thursday conference in Moscow on Russia's
Economic Development Strategy: Unity of Self-Organization and Management. Direct damage from emergencies exceeds 100
billion rubles per year, he said.
Human error remains the chief cause of these disasters, he said. DUMA DEPUTIES CONCERNED ABOUT SITUATION WITH
BANKING
State Duma members from various factions have sent a letter to the president voicing their concern over the situation
with banking in Russia, blaming Central Bank officials, particularly Andrei Kozlov, for panicking the sector.
The situation "is quickly deteriorating and turning into a crisis, and the entire banking system has been
destabilized," says a letter circulated on Thursday. LUKOIL TO SELL UZBEK GAS TO GAZPROM
Russia's Lukoil will sell to Gazprom natural gas produced under a $1 billion project to develop a gas field in
the Bukhara- Khiva region of southwest Uzbekistan, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov told journalists
"The AN-70 will be developed. There are certain drawbacks,
but they will be rectified. The AN-70 is to be reliable and
Lukoil and Uzbekistan's national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz signed on Wednesday a production-sharing
agreement for the Kandym-Khauzak-Shady project, under which Lukoil will own 90% and Uzbekneftegaz 10% of the
project's operating company.
Russia's Gazprom plans to invest over $1 billion in the economy of Uzbekistan, President Vladimir Putin
announced on Wednesday after talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN PROTOCOL ON AN-70 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM SIGNED
A joint Russian-Ukrainian workgroup has signed a protocol to develop the AN-70 medium transport plane.
Georgia wants the commander of the joint peacekeeping
force, Gen. Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, to leave the Georgian-
Ossetian conflict zone, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy
safe," Ukrainian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Yaroslav Skalko said.
"The AN-70 is a matter of principle for the two states. Our states have every prerequisite for developing own
aircraft," Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin said. CIS AND THE BALTICS SCO SUMMIT OPENS IN
TASHKENT
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries vowed to step up their efforts to fight terrorism and
adopted a declaration to that effect at the organization's summit in Tashkent on Thursday. The SCO comprises
Uzbekistan, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The Tashkent summit decided to grant observer status
to Mongolia. GEORGIA WANTS PEACEKEEPER COMMANDER OUT OF CONFLICT ZONE
Gomiashvili told a Wednesday briefing. He said Georgia sent a request to the Russian authorities several days
ago.
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
