Russia

Launched in 1997, WEREE has been advised by Elbrus beginning October 2013. Over the three years, it has improved its risk-return profile and has significantly outperformed its benchmark and competitors. The Fund is now in the top quartile performance among its peers for the period and ranks highly in industry databases and monitoring services such as Morningstar1 (4 stars) and Quantalys2 (5 stars).

WEREE invests in liquid listed equities in Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia and the former Soviet states. The Fund implements a hybrid investment process that combines fundamental research stock selection with a model-driven macro overlay that determines the appropriate level of equity exposure for a given period or market environment.

Russia has no plan to change its current level of oil output, said Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, albeit he applauds OPEC oil cartel’s agreement to curb production.

"Russia will carefully consider those proposals which will be eventually drawn up. … But our position is keeping the volume of production at the level that has been reached. These are the main principles that were earlier being considered,” said Novak. The comments came after OPEC reached a preliminary deal Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum to cut current production to 32.5 – 33.0 million barrel per day (bpd), for the first time since 2008.

Rostek, russian state company, is considering to increase the stake of private investors in arm makers Kalashnikov as reported by the Russian news agency Tass. Moreover, the number one Russian conglomerate Sergei Chemezov, would be satisfied to hold 25% plus one share of the capital of the company, namely the controlling stake, while the rest would go into private hands. At the moment Kalashnikov belongs 51% to Rostek, while 49% is owned by private investors, among them the general manager of the company and two Russian oligarchs.

Gazprom export" plans to increase its market share in Europe of 2% -5% in 2016 over the previous year, as stated by the representative of the company Valery Nemov, at the 10th annual European Gas Summit organised by S&P Global Platts in Düsseldorf.

"We must remember that in recent years Gazprom has set a very ambitious goal: to reach a market share of 30% in Europe," said Nemov, quoted by Bloomberg.

apan plans to discuss a number of specific proposals with Russia to be partakers with its entrepreneurs to the development of the agricultural sector in the Russian Far East. According to the newspaper Sankei Shimbun, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko will visit Moscow to discuss these proposals on November 1.

Standard & Poor’s upgrades Russia’s outlook. Analysts believe that GDP should increase by 1.6% for the next three years, despite the sanctions imposed by Europe to Moscow to the Ukrainian question. "The exogenous risks for Russia – the note reads – have been reduced significantly in a context in which the economy of the country comes to terms with the double shock linked to lower oil prices and sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States ".

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), after an year’s delay, has approved a $1 billion aid tranche for Ukraine from its $17.2 billion bailout program.

The IMF will disburse an additional $1 billion (889.3 million euros) to Kyiv, the fund’s first aid package for the country since the $17.5 billion program was held up in August 2015. The latest decision brings the total amount of aid disbursed to Ukraine by the IMF to $7.62 billion.
"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said in a statement.