Russian Economy General News: #4

sepheronx wrote:Russian banks have not been doing well. They reported losses in funds when prior crisis was still gain in funds. Sberbank isnt Russian and is indeed working in their own interests rather than the nations. Evident is indeed Crimea since Crimea is Russian and if they operate there, shouldnt be of matter to them politically as they are supposed to be a Russian bank dealing in Russian activities. But, they dont. VTB banks is clearly helping Ukraine with increasing its investments there.  If medvedev, Prime Minister is questioning the policies of the banks, then you know something is wrong.

The issue at hand is that Sberbank is main holder of Russias FOREX, so they can hold the government by the balls. And CBR has controlling stake in Sberbank which is technically a no no in international banking.

Russian government has to come down very hard on German Gref, which isnt Russian anyway, and owner of VTB. Helping the enemy to save a buck shouldnt be the case, and should be treason. But this isnt unheard of. In past, american companies used to assist Nazi Germany even if they were at war.

But did you read the claims of the report?
Is says in Absolute terms that Americans Federal Reserve controls Russia.. and this is
completely False . For me Russian central bank are like the Sukhoi Superjet 100 project.
that even thought the company is Russian ,the plane some parts are not done in Russia..
The engines are Russian done.. and the computer system too..if remember well. and the hull of the plane too and other things.. the avionics are french or forgot which company. the gears are american , the air conditioner.. and plane seats from another..

So is a collective project.. Where Russia is the major shareholder ....
Against the Russian Central bank is majority shares are controlled by Russian Government.
THis means that they could have if needed to have the last saying over anything. And this is
completely contradict the claims that Russian bank is controlled by the west or got by the balls.

Why the sukjoi 1000 is a good idea as a collective project?  Because it allows Russia to enter
western markets ,and sell their planes there where the big money flows.. otherwise they will
be limited to only Russia and Asian markets..   And this is a HUGE advantage . Yes not all the plane sales will be in control of Russia and not all the profits will go to Russia but the plane
majority of it is Russian.. and Russia can shut down the project anytime they want.. see?

So just like the SUkhoi ,Russia benefit enormously by having a collective Bank with foreign capital invested on it.. because will allow Russia their own Bank to have bigger pockets while at the same time keeping the doors opened with the western banking system ,while at the same time controlling the majority of it.

Did you saw the part where i told of Russian banks bypassing American sanctions in europe?
Did that sounds to you like a bank "not controlled by Russia".  Interest of the Russian Central
bank are the interest of its Shareholders..and Russia have majority of shareholders there.

So is not under american control.. but Russian control.. yes not an absolute control and already the benefits of it explained.. ie.. Open doors with western financial system and larger capital and bigger profits .  Because means Russian banks can operate in Europe too and in America and in any part of the world and not just in Russia. So the Non-Russian Shareholders makes a lot of money.. but the Russian shareholders makes even more.. see?

The fact that Russian gold reserves are NOT stored in US banks like all Europeans.. do..
but in Russia.. should be very telling of who is in control of what.. MaxKeyser.. the expert
economist at RT ,who have pretty good knowledge of what happens with world economy, and who moves what, have told before that Russia central Bank is the only bank in world
that the Rothshild and Rockefellers the IMF cannot control. Do that sound like Russia is owned
by the west?

Reason why i think Russia Government does not use its powers and nationalize the bank completely .(which they could do any time easily ) it had  to be because it could destroy the value of the shares of the bank and bring down the value of the Ruble if it is perceived as being a closed national bank and no longer international and open to investors. and no longer will be able to participate in wallstreet.. is not because they sold to americans.. but because they want to attract money to Russia...

One little secret about America is that their even though its Government that is controlled by wallstreet have ultimate word on anything.. is that every American Company Also have
their own Interest too and they are not united.. and not always in line with what each US governments administration wants. and this is why you see companies like Shell or Exxon at times bypassing US sanctions and working with Gazprom and Rossfnet. You have US senate trying to blockade pentagon shopping of Russian engines.. etc etc etc.. USA is not a united corporation.. but many Mega companies and each one with different interest.. not always in line
with US Government.  So Russia can take advantage of that division ,and literary lure away American companies , Big ones and twist the arms of the white house.. This happened with the US space industry. and why Russia can continue selling rocket engines even though the Republican Senate and congress oppose it.  


All said i see nothing wrong with the Russia central bank.. If Russia government needs something its needs to negotiate.. it will not be a dictatorship but neither Russia will be
powerless to force the bank to do what they want. this is the way i see it..


if Europe goes and increase sanctions on Russia and stop any trade.. then Russia will be justified to nationalize the bank withing minutes since no longer there will be any point to keep doors open if the west completely close them.

Did i mention that Russian Evil banks are bypassing American and European sanctions in Europe?  Did i mention that Russia is not using dollars anymore in many of its transactions and
the the head of the central bank is defended by Putin its actions?

So unless people want to say Putin is in bed with American.. and is an idiot ,, i don't think Putin is a fool .. they have an strategy. And making money and defeating western sanctions and american banks financial hegemony IS part of that strategy;.

Head of the Russian Central Bank,Elvira Nabiullina ,elected by President Vladimir Putin.
Was accused of being a traitor by so called "economy experts" in Saker Forums interviews.. and accused her of completely ignoring Putin Demands for an alternative to the american control
Swift payment system... well guess what?  they were wrong..

Here Vladimir Putin policies implemented as he asked by the Russian central bank.

http://rbth.com/business/2015/06/03/russia_unveils_new_national_payment_card_mir_46615.html

So is not a "western controlled bank". as people claim.. Is a Semi private ,semi national Bank.
Where Russia have majority of control.. but that they need to negotiate with its non Russian Shareholders.. too..  and even thought this is a limitation.. the benefits Russia gets in change
Far surpass the limitations.  Otherwise Russia will need to nationlize the bank..and Russia will lose any access to International internet trade,no visa ,no mastercard ,with the west and major problem for the convenience of Russian people.. It will be a complete isolation from western business and Russia is not interested in that..  For me Russia policy under Putin is of leading
Russia with Brutal practical approach..  What can allow Russia obtain the major economic interest possible in the shortest time.  Remember that Russia is still selling Gas to Ukraine after
all the killing of ethnic Russians.. but i don't see anyone claiming Gazprom is not under control of Russian government.. See?  The logic is to maintain open relations with Ukraine ,even if that means giving Gas very cheap and cost.. and not see them closing the pipes to Europe.. which will be far worse for Russia economy

So Putin policy is one of Total and absolute practical approach to maximize the best possible
its economy.. and you can see that by Russia -Turkey pipeline.. and business with Israel.
and still selling Space Engines to NASA .

So traditionally Putin policy in Russia. Is very Economic Oriented and not based on feelings..
but on numbers. but without ignoring Russian people.  Now Russia is facing a high probability of
a major world war. and it needs to try to boost economy at any price,at any cost ,including reducing social spending.. because of the Nation security threat. So they buy as much Gold they can and spending in military as much as they can..and maintain open their economy with the west as much as they can. Before any war start.

Sberbank is being pressure by the west through its shareholders minority to cut relations with Crimea.. So putin have 2 options , Force the bank to do its will and risk the shareholders to leave the bank and damage the bank and Russia economy?  Or.. find a loophole with another bank and continue providing the service in Crimea without affecting without having a blowback
to the banks in Russia?

People complain that Russia keep selling Gas to Ukraine instead after they killing ethnic Russians.. that already was explained .the blow back for shutting down the Gas will be worse.

People complaine Sberbank continues operating in Ukraine.. but the blowback of seeing their assets confiscated and having to pay later in courts Ukraine could be worse.

people do not understand why Russia continue business with Ukraine ..after they killing
civilians.. and that Russian banks are financing the Kiev war.. and so and so.. and that is half truths.  what they don't see is the consequences ,the blowback that could happen if Russia
shut down any kind of relation with Ukraine . That will be Russia will no longer be able to sell
energy to Europe through Ukraine and will lose like 30% in sales Gazprom.. this will affect directly Russia economy more than Ukraine and significantly pull the entire Russia economy
into a longer recession and create unrest in Russia? See?

Putin decisions are brutally ,and extremely practical .To the point that he could be seen
as a "puppet to the west".     But what they do not understand is that Putin measure
the pros and cons of any action.. and he will always choose the action that could allow Russia
to maintain its economy in a better shape.. and this is because he fully understand , how closely
related is the economy of a nation/with the unity of people and with nation security. and the last thing Putin wants is to not only have to fight Ukraine in their borders openly causing more civilians casualties.. but also have to deal with civilian unrest and revolutions in all Russian cities demanding jobs and food.

Money is everything.. Money is all, without money a country cannot exist
And what kind of help Russia can give Crimea or Ukrainians if Putin assault their own
banking institutions and scare all investors..The Ruble value is very sensitive to politics
in Russia.. and any perception of Russia nationalizing its banks and closing the banks to western investors will sink the Ruble value ,more than what could Obama and saudi oil price wars could have done.

Many Russians citizens will support in a second that Crimean returns to Ukraine , if thats the only way for them to get their jobs back and food for their families. So this is why Russia needs to lift the siege on Russia economy by the west and NOT closing Russia doors to the western investments. even if that means annoying at times the comfort of their own people. and to try to minimize the effect of sanctions of the west. But a balanced approach is needed.

And this is done because Russia is still unfortunately dependent of trade with the west. for technology . As long as Russia does not offer a strong alternative to   Intel/apple /Microsoft/European Automobile industry ,everyone wants a BMW ,and develop their own internet , their own fashion /and entertainment industry./their entertainment technology like LCD giant screens or home stereos etc... they will continue to buy everything from foreign companies. Because they will see most of the things they want are there .  

The good news is that Russia do have the capabilities to replace anything that US and European
produce.. but they should have started a decade or two ago with the full Industrial revolution and not now.. anyway better late than never..

If someone tells me that Russia central bank is 100% private and Russian government have no
shares there,and now to influence them. that will be a complete different thing.. and that will be treason ..but perhaps someone can educate me here if im wrong. .but i don't think this is the case.

Yeah it's beautiful. Amazing what can be done in less than a year to such a giant complex. Russia and more precisely Crimea, invest heavily in the youth's future, we can clearly see that. My dad's been to Crimea for a week in May and according to him the people are very happy with the current situation. Only issue is the water supply right now. If you remember the Ukrainians have shut down the canal that supplied Crimea with water and Russia was forced to build water lines. Well guess what, now the Crimeans are able to use water for longer periods during the day than they were able to when they were still under Ukraine's authority (and thus WITH the canal) That's some high level witchcraft.

sepheronx wrote:
Wow, does your father have any photo's to share?

Yeah, I heard the same about the water pipes that were installed in Crimea.  People on average from what I am told are quite happy as they have now seen far more investments and development in 1 year vs the 20 years in Ukraine.

That said, I am still kinda irked that they never bothered to try and build a desalination plant for drinking water in Crimea to separate the water supplies.  Oh well.

He shot pictures ofcourse but most of them are personal. I don't think I'm allowed to share

Forgot to mention a cool thing he encountered on his first day there. He saw Aksyonov (Crimea's PM) on the street, steering the road workers as they were busy renewing the roads

sepheronx wrote:http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/63479/

Second article on Artek camp for kids.

God it is so beautiful.

Im probably one of the most uneducated people in this thread about economy..
and even less about Russian central bank or how any bank works. But what i write is based on logic and by observing what Russian leaders say in words ..vs what happens in the real word.
It will be illogical that Putin will try to reject US world hegemony,and oppose their policies if
Russia bank was just under complete control of the Americans. .that will be illogical..

BRICS will have no sense at all to even exist.. if that was the case.. And logic tells me that if
Russia central bank was owned by US central bank as the some "Experts" says.. then the entire
Ukraine conflict will not be needed at all.. And US will not need to expend $5 billions there to damage Russia economy by spliting Ukraine from Russia..

heck the pipeline war in Syria not even needed at all.. All Obama had to do is simply freeze Russian Government bank accounts in Russia and the entire nation frozen .. a new currency will had to be made etc.. it will be a disaster, worse than one nuclear attack.

But thats not the case.. Russia Economy continues to grow and they continue building submarines and next generation tanks..They actually leaving recensesion in end 2015 ,
so its Obvious for me ,all that claims are non sense of a Russian Central bank in bed with The US federal Reserve..  The fact that Americans spend so much money in creating revolutions and wars and isolation of other nations around the world in Russia economic zones .. to weaken Russia economy.. shows to me.. that they do not have control of Russia Central bank at all.
because if you control the Central bank of any country.. then you can control that nation..
and without the need of any armies..

But thats not how it happens . US actually continues to militarize Russian Borders..and target
Russian business ,when all they had to do is ask the shareholders to just shut down the Russian bank ,and no longer Russia can operate as a nation.

and yes.. abotu Sverbank presence in wallstreet ,i really think thats the way Russia attract investors.. without wallstreet you cannot attract Capital from US and Europe where the big money flows.. From 2000 to 2010, Russia experienced a tsunami of economic development
thanks to its business with the west. And putin Took advantage of that opened door but unfortunately underestimated the US control of Europe . Now its time For Russia to move to the next open door in Asia ,and while maintaining opened the doors with the west..but at the same time diversifying its economy ,with the east.  China can play an important role in the industrial
revolution in Russia.. they have almost any company of Europe operating in China and can reverse engineer anything. IF Russia needs a quick replacement of any western product.

http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/1855703

Vann you should read this, in fact everyone should.

Nikander wrote:http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/1855703

Vann you should read this, in fact everyone should.

And you should read what i posted.. That so called "Expert" . is one of the
disinformants that i was speaking about.. i rejected his claims back in Oct 2014 ,
and time gave me the reason he was wrong.

None of his predictions happened.. He claimed Russia Central bank was sabotaging all Putin demands and he was 100% wrong.

He claimed that the Russian Central bank will never support leaving the US dollar..
and is aleady happening. That The Central bank is ignoring Putin Demands of a payments
system and will not implements it.. and is already happening.. that the policies of the Central
bank head were Wrong increasing interest rate and he went as far to claim she should be
shot.. but none of his Alarmist claims happened..

Is nonsense his theories that Russia Central bank is in bed with
the west.. Russia central bank is in bed with its shareholders..and last i heard
Russia have have the majority .

if that was true ,That Americans controls Russian Central bank ,Russia economy will have been shot down withing one week after the sanctions..  Stop reading such disinformants "experts.". He got 100% of his predictions wrong..including a major catastrophe in fact for Russian economy and look now..Central bank announcing recently the Reccession of Russia will end late this year and Russia economy will experience growth early 2016.

Singapore Company Will Invest in Russian Ports in the Far East

Baoli Bitumina will help Russia develop its infrastructe

http://russia-insider.com/en/business/singapore-company-will-invest-russias-port-far-east/ri7825

Two ports connected by the Baikal-Amur railway which connects to the Trans-Siberian railway in Sovetskay Gava and Vanino are to be developed in the Far East of the Russian Federation. Baoli Bitumina, a company from Singapore, will be investing in the program to help build infrastructure at these ports. The Aovetskay Gava and Vanino are at extremely strategic locations for logistics and transportation.

This would give Baoli Bitumina added tax benefits, raw materials and infrastructure. There are also plans for the city to invest around $200 million to help modernize a Russian port in the Pacific. This will help to set up an oil and gas terminal. The Singaporean company also asked for 50 hectars of land (123.55 acres) in Russia to develop trade in the Pacific Rim markets.

sepheronx wrote:I know this isn't really economic news, but take a look at this:
Kids Camp Artek

Look at such a facility!  I seriously want to volunteer working there.  Looks awesome!  Don't even have anything close to that here unless one is willing to spend a fortune or is a drug addict and needs to go to rehab in Costa Rica.

It looks great. They still have a lot to renovate, but it is good, Russia invest in Crimea. In few years it will be big difference between Crimea and Ukraine.

Nikander wrote:http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/1855703

Vann you should read this, in fact everyone should.

Eh, economists/forecasters are generally unreliable at best and miles off at worst. I tend to stay clear of them. Although, it is refreshing that he uses political analysis to back up his claims rather than just economic data.

Why it looks for me the European Union tour in Latin America..was to seek
political support for the Isolation of Russia?



They got some lip service from mexico there.. about "Territorial integrity" of Ukraine..
I find so disgusting that while Ukraine is killing civilians every single day.. the European
Union all they do is give legitimacy to Ukraine criminal war against their own people.
All those bastards in Eu parliament that justify Ukraine actions needs to be arrested and
hanged in Public..

The right thing to do in ukraine is that Europe declare illegitimate the government in kiev,
and sanctions against Ukraine ,total economic isolation and demand international arrest of
POroshenko and its government and all ultra radicals parties.. And declare a no fly zone in Ukraine and invade kiev.. to restore order.

And going upwards

Russia's reserves rose by $ 5 billion this week

sepheronx wrote:Mexico and Russia doesn't have much in terms of trade amongst each other.  That said, they agree to Ukraine territorial integrity, but I doubt it will change their opinion on their orders.  Don't forget, they have a few ssj-100's and Mi helicopters.  Will be costly to replace those but they don't fall under sanctions anyway.

Let them try in Venezuela, Argentina, Nicaragua and the like.  Doubt Belgium would get same reception.

It's not about Russia. Mexico is first and foremost an oligarchy. Current president, Peña Nieto, is trying to fight corruption with corruption and that's why ruling party, PRI, that just won legislative elections last week with their worst result ever, only comparable to the 2006 debacle when they ended third, is in need of external support to gain some legitimacy for their policies after a staggering abstention of more than 50% so they're going to say whatever they have to.

Nice  

Chinese Media Hails Russia-China Deal on Far East Land's Lease for 50 Years

Now this is of extra importance because Putin-Erdogan-Aliyev might form a common alliance against the EU/US plans meaning the only left EU option to get away from Russian

gas (as they saw it though it was never valiant) is most likely now closed also

Putin & Erdogan discuss energy projects in Azerbaijan closed-door talks

Turkey is not an ally , but a very dangerous nation..  It will be better if Russia nuke the entire nation.. after a major war start with NATO..  THe only reason TUrkey support the RUssian pipeline is because their economic benefits.. but in NATO meetings Turkey goes as far to suggest ways how NATO can take CRIMEA away from Russia.. and encouraging more sanctions..

If there is a war between Russia and NATO turkey will be the one Russia will have to be
more carefull. they have nuclear weapons from NATO and they arming ISIS and the son of Erdogan providing supplies to ISIS ,to destroy Syria ,and exterminate millions of civilians that support Assad.

So do not get excited at all with Turkey.. that muslin nation will be better if destroyed completely. They are the main transit hub of terrorist around the world towards Russia or towards middle east.  Turkey is another Israel.. but with a bigger Army and with more
ambitions to become an empire.  If any Russia needs to Arm IRAN and Syria to counter Turkey.
and try to change their pipeline route again through another route not involving Turkey.

IF anyone thinks Ukraine is dangerous to Russia... have seen nothing.. Turkey is worse.
Had Turkey be located at Russia border.. it will have been wars already happening.

Viktor wrote:Nice  

Chinese Media Hails Russia-China Deal on Far East Land's Lease for 50 Years

Now this is of extra importance because Putin-Erdogan-Aliyev might form a common alliance against the EU/US plans meaning the only left EU option to get away from Russian

gas (as they saw it though it was never valiant) is most likely now closed also

Putin & Erdogan discuss energy projects in Azerbaijan closed-door talks

in b4 the inevitable sh!tstorm of "Russia now China's vassal- hands over lands".

the Russians should be careful though. sitting on your ass collecting rent payments is nice- but they have to make sure the they are not getting shafted.

pricing is one issue they should be careful with. as time goes on agricultural stuff just gets more expensive- obviously fixed rent over large period of time is just asking to be cheated. but most likely they update it to reflect the current prices idk. maybe sharecropping is one way they settle payments?

another thing is the environment; the place is prolly unused before this lease but if they are not careful it could look like a wasteland before the 50 years is even done. therefore stringent environmental protection measures must be put in place, with strict monitoring on the authorities overseeing the whole thing themselves since its all too common to just bribe the local officials instead of complying in most parts of the world. better to lose such uncooperative tenants- pretty sure there is a line behind them so its ok to be picky.

then there is also the issue of who will work there. the ideal would be that local Russians and those from the surrounding regions themselves work there. their salaries are prolly not too far ahead of their Chinese counterparts across the border because of years of lack of development in their side of the border and the opposite in the other side and this would be a good point to push across by the authorities to the new investors. and since most likely these are going to be heavily industrialized farms aimed for max output the workforce needed is less of peasant mobs and more of people operating agricultural machinery like tractors and combines, etc. which brings to the next point.

the investors themselves should be highly encouraged to give a share of the pie in developing the place to the Russians too. like with agricultural machinery- maybe the state can give rewards like tax breaks to farms that operate Russian made tractors, combines, planters, plows, water pumps etc.

Can anyone explain this Propagandist report?

by:Mike Wheatley is a British born journalist...

Poverty Rate in Russia Jumps to 16%
The number of Russians living below the poverty line rose to 22.9 million, approximately 16 percent of the population.

The number of Russians with incomes below the “poverty line” increased by 3.1 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same period of the previous year. In total, some 22.9 million Russians now have incomes “below the subsistence level”, said the Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat on Thursday.

Percentage-wise, that means 15.9 percent of Russians are now living below the poverty line, compared to 13.8 percent in quarter one of 2014. Rosstat’s information excludes data from the Crimea and Sevastopol, Interfax reported.

Rosstat said the main reason so many Russians are struggling to make ends meet is that the cost of living in the country has risen sharply in the last year. The agency puts the bare minimum income needed at 9,662 rubles per person, per month, compared to just 7,688 rubles per person, per month in 2014.

In Russia as whole, the average per capita income for the first quarter of 2015 amounted to 25,200 rubles per month, compared to 22,700 rubles per month one year ago.

However, Rosstat says that poverty in Russia is somewhat “seasonal” - noting that the poverty rate stood at 13.8 percent in Q1 of 2014, then 12.1 percent in Q2, 11.5 percent in Q3 and 9.1 percent in Q4. Overall in 2014, the poverty rate was 11.2 percent, compared to 10.8 percent in 2013.



More misery on the horizon?

The forecasts don’t look good. According to the World Bank’s baseline forecast, Russia’s poverty rate will increase to 14.2 percent (20.3 million people) in 2015 as a whole.

“This will be the first substantial increase in poverty since 1998-1999. The poverty rate did not increase in 2008-2009 due to significant growth in disposable income,” a World Bank official told Interfax.

Rosstat’s report notes that because of limited budgetary resources in 2015-2016, financial support from the government for the poor may not be so forthcoming. It said that Indexation of public sector salaries will not be held in 2015, and that pensions and other benefits have decreased in real terms, since indexing based on the 2014 rate of inflation is much lower than projected pay rises in 2015.

“Currently, pensioners, public sector employees and state-owned enterprise employees account for a substantial part of the poorest part of the population. Other vulnerable groups include workers in the informal economy and families with children. As a result, in 2015-2016 there will be less opportunities to improve welfare,” Rosstat said.

Basically the so called journalist seems to take data here or there and interpret it
in the worse possible way and then goes as far as use the words "misery and Russia " in the
same sentence. only based on a report that specifically talks about Poors in Russia..

The guy who makes reports about RUssia in Russia Insider ,in the worse pesimistic view of Russia about anything.

How Floating the Ruble Rescued Russia

Bank of Russia Lowers Key Rates to 11.5% From 12.5% Annual

The regulator said it would continue to lower key rates in pace with the slowing of inflation rates in the country.

MOSCOW, June 15 (Sputnik) – The Bank of Russia on Monday lowered its key annual rates by 1 percent to 11.5 percent from June 16, according to the regulator’s press release.

“The Bank of Russia’s board of directors made a decision on June 15, 2015, to lower the key rate from 12.5 percent to 11.5 percent annual, taking into consideration the weakening inflation risks during a considerable cooling economy,” the press release reads.

The Central Bank said it would continue to lower key rates in pace with the slowing of inflation rates in the country.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/russia/20150615/1023374169.html#ixzz3d98hJJIB

China Not So In Love With Russia After All



Shunned by the West, Russia may want to promote its new Chinese love affair to the world these days, but Czar Romeo shouldn’t get his hopes up.

Russia’s second biggest lender, VTB Bank, said that most Chinese banks have foregone doing business with them. The reason? Western sanctions against VTB. China lenders don’t want to get caught up in the drama and — having more business with the U.S. and Europe than with Russia — have opted to play it safe.

“China’s ambiguous position regarding Russian banks in the wake of US and EU sanctions is a key issue holding back progress toward greater bilateral cooperation,” VTB Bank First Deputy Chairman Yuri Soloviev write in an op-ed published by the FinanceAsia news agency on Tuesday.

Soloviev said interbank transactions from most Chinese banks was non-existent. VTB’s Soloviev also said that China banks were not financing Russian trade either, at least not through them.

“Most Chinese banks will currently not execute interbank transactions with their Russian peers. Chinese banks have significantly curtailed their involvement in (our) foreign trade deals, such as providing trade finance,” Soloviev wrote.

VTB and market leader Sberbank were sanctioned last year. Russia’s top banks and energy companies are being punished by the U.S. and European Union for Russia’s unofficial support of a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has been locked in an on-again, off-again bloody battle with pro-Russian forces in at least four cities within a couple hundred miles from the Russian border. Russia and Ukraine have signed peace agreements on the fighting twice, but locals have claimed their autonomy from Kyiv and Russia’s government seems politically interested in keeping Ukraine in a frozen conflict in order to guarantee it will never become part of NATO. Countries that have ongoing territorial disputes cannot seek NATO membership.


Since the sanctions began last year, Russia has been touting its friendship with China. A number of partnership deals were signed, including one with Gazprom, Russia’s biggest natural gas producer and exporter, which was also sanctioned by the West.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/06/17/china-not-so-in-love-with-russia-afterall/

max steel wrote:  China Not So In Love With Russia After All  



Shunned by the West, Russia may want to promote its new Chinese love affair to the world these days, but Czar Romeo shouldn’t get his hopes up.

Russia’s second biggest lender, VTB Bank, said that most Chinese banks have foregone doing business with them. The reason? Western sanctions against VTB. China lenders don’t want to get caught up in the drama and — having more business with the U.S. and Europe than with Russia — have opted to play it safe.

“China’s ambiguous position regarding Russian banks in the wake of US and EU sanctions is a key issue holding back progress toward greater bilateral cooperation,” VTB Bank First Deputy Chairman Yuri Soloviev write in an op-ed published by the FinanceAsia news agency on Tuesday.

Soloviev said interbank transactions from most Chinese banks was non-existent. VTB’s Soloviev also said that China banks were not financing Russian trade either, at least not through them.

“Most Chinese banks will currently not execute interbank transactions with their Russian peers. Chinese banks have significantly curtailed their involvement in (our) foreign trade deals, such as providing trade finance,” Soloviev wrote.

VTB and market leader Sberbank were sanctioned last year. Russia’s top banks and energy companies are being punished by the U.S. and European Union for Russia’s unofficial support of a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has been locked in an on-again, off-again bloody battle with pro-Russian forces in at least four cities within a couple hundred miles from the Russian border. Russia and Ukraine have signed peace agreements on the fighting twice, but locals have claimed their autonomy from Kyiv and Russia’s government seems politically interested in keeping Ukraine in a frozen conflict in order to guarantee it will never become part of NATO. Countries that have ongoing territorial disputes cannot seek NATO membership.


Since the sanctions began last year, Russia has been touting its friendship with China. A number of partnership deals were signed, including one with Gazprom, Russia’s biggest natural gas producer and exporter, which was also sanctioned by the West.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/06/17/china-not-so-in-love-with-russia-afterall/

Good ole' agit prop from Forbes, the family that made it's fortune selling opium, yet again showing that they're getting high off their own supply! If Russia, China relations are so bad then how come they signed over $1 trillion worth of deals within a 2 year span? A $350 billion crude oil pipeline deal in the summer of 2013, a $400 billion natural gas pipeline deal mid-2014, a second natural gas pipeline with around the same out of gas (around $400 billion worth) in late 2014, alongside other deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars that I've already documented.