RUSSIAN IPO INVESTOR

Karolus — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:49:53 +0400

RUSSIAN IPO INVESTOR ALERT

French holders of Russian government bonds remind investors that the Russian Federation is still in default today (May 2007) on their estimate of some US$ 90 billion owed to them since the Bolshevik, then the Soviet, and now the Russian Federation governments have all unilaterally repudiated Tsarist debt and refused any form of contact or dialogue with their legitimate bona fide creditors.

They also remind investors that in its Sep. 15th 2006 report entitled "Governance matters: a decade of measuring the quality of governance", the WORLD BANK has rated Russia's governance comparable to that of Swaziland, Zambia and Kazakhstan. Russia came 151st out of 208 countries in terms of (...) accountability, quality of regulatory bodies, and rule of law, (...). In particular, rule of law (i.e. the courts and the quality of contract enforcement) was judged as effective in Russia as it is in Ecuador, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. Nicaragua, East Timor, and China's ability to control corruption was judged similar to Russia's.

On February 26th 2007 the St. Petersburg Times, quoting a report from Vedomosti, wrote that "Surgutneftegaz managers covertly hold 72 % of the secretive oil firm" and that Deutsche UFG analysts had had to "raise its estimate number of outstanding shares from less than 26 billion to (...) 43 billion" which "implies a 40% dilution in the value of the stock".

In Paris on April 3rd 2007 to launch the merged NYSE-EURONEXT entity Mr. John Thain, the New York Stock Exchange CEO, warned that he was "very concerned about the quality of corporate governance, the transparency of company financials and the protection of minority shareholders. A number of Russian companies raise serious questions around these issues."

Despite these findings, and the main rating agencies' knowledge that Russia is in default on US$ 90 billion of Tsarist debt, Russia is rated "INVESTMENT GRADE" whereas it should clearly be in "SELECTIVE DEFAULT".

French bondholders intend to pursue their claim until full settlement at present value, by any legal means and in any jurisdiction they deem appropriate.

EVERY POTENTIAL INVESTOR IN RUSSIA MUST BE MADE AWARE OF THESE RISKS.

FRENCH CREDITORS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST ANY FORM OF INVESTMENT IN A COUNTRY WHOSE SOLVENT GOVERNMENT HAS IN THEIR VIEW SYTEMATICALLY REFUSED TO FULFIL ITS NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, REFUSES ALL CONTACT AND DIALOGUE WITH ITS LEGITIMATE BONA FIDE CREDITORS, AND REFUSES TO DISCLOSE LIABILITIES WORTH US$ 90 BILLION.
May 2007

Finam to offer Russian IT assets on MICEX

translator — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:15:25 +0400

In June Finam Management will offer equity stakes of Finam-IT mutual fund of high risk (venture) investments in the sector of Innovative and Growth Companies on MICEX. The formation of Finam-IT mutual fund was launched on Dec 27, 2005 and completed on Feb 28, 2006. Its asset value amounts to Rub 175 mln ($6.22 mln). Fund's basic asset is 68,5% shares of Mamba (a dating web-service). With this IPO Finam hopes to attract Rub 500 mln investment.

"Purchasing equity stakes of Finam-IT mutual fund looks attractive first and foremost because of its unique status – the Russian stock market virtually offers no options for portfolio investors to invest cash in IT and hi-tech projects, - Finam analysts say, - Taking part in projects is possible only with relatively big amounts and only after lengthy negotiations are completed. The Russian IT market itself is in an embryonic state and we believe that in the future due to a sharp rise in the number of personal computers among households and a higher penetration rate of broadband technologies information transfer and data processing services will enjoy stronger demand'.

Вебпланета - Finam to offer Russian IT assets on MICEX - Comments

RUSSIAN IPO INVESTOR

Finam to offer Russian IT assets on MICEX