Eastern Europe / Features
Who's who in the new Russian government
On January 21 Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the personnel of the new government of Mikhail Mishustin. There are many new figures, including six new deputy prime ministers and eight ministers that did not work in Dmitry Medvedev’s governme
INTERVIEW: Ukraine gas tariffs stay low, energy sector outlook improves
After signing off on a new gas transit deal in the last days of last year, Ukrainian authorities backed off their threat to more than triple gas tariffs for domestic producers in an effort to keep the pipeline system from going bankrupt.
East Asian investors ramp up investments in Central and Eastern Europe
China became the top investor in CEE in 2019, leading fellow East Asian investors that accounted for a growing share of M&A in the region. More deals are expected to follow, says a new report from law firm CMS.
Putin calls for constitutional changes to shift power to Duma during his state of the nation speech
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for changes to the constitution that would shift power to the Duma, the Russian parliament, as well as imposing some new limits to the president’s power, during his annual state of the nation speech.
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OUTLOOK 2020 Belarus
A row with Russia that saw Belarus' oil supplies cut off caught the headlines but the bigger problem the country faces is its demographic trends. The government wants to boost technological industries and increase diversification.
How interconnected are the economies of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan? Inflation and rates outlook for 2020
In 1991 the Soviet Union broke apart and created 15 independent countries. But over the last three decades, while these countries are politically independent, the economies of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan (KRUB) remain joined at the hip.
Russia funds monthly wrap: ETFs beat the RTS in 2019, return over 50%
Russia’s RTS returned just under 45% in 2019 and all of the dozen exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that foccus on Russia did well, with a few beating the index and returning more than 50% to investors in 2019.
CEE monthly bond wrap: CE issuers raise $44.5bn and EE raises $29.9bn in 2019
2019 was a decent year for bond issues in Central and Eastern Europe, but still behind the vintage year of 2017.
OUTLOOK 2020 Ukraine
2020 will be a big year for Ukraine as there is a possibility that a peace deal could be reached with Russia and the effects of the first round of reforms made by the new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration start to kick in.
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OUTLOOK 2020 Russia
Russia’s economy is basically healthy and solid. It’s just not growing fast enough. The Kremlin is attempting to address this problem, but so far its efforts have been off to a slow start. 2020 should be the year when the pace picks up.
Russian rallies: RTS index breaks above 1,600 for the first time in seven years
Russia's RTS index broke through the 1,600 mark for the first time in seven years just as the traditional spring rally gets underway.
Ukraine land market reforms watered down but on track to be introduced in 2020
Ukraine is grappling with creating a market for farmland that could boost economic growth by as much as 3% and increase the value of the economy by $85bn if introduced.
Russia’s flourishing agricultural sector on course for another good harvest
Thanks to heavy investment by the state, as part of its autarky food security policy, agriculture has been one of Russia's most dynamic growth sectors and a real policy success.