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Olga Podoinitsyna, member of the board at VTB Capital Since 2009, the forum has been successfully contributing to the development of effective interaction between Russian businesses and international investors.
‘Russia Calling!’ is a unique international platform that provides insight into Russia’s investment and economic environment. The main purpose of these forums is to show the full range of investment opportunities that exist today in Russia. Since its inception, the forum has commanded the attention of high-calibre audiences in Russia and across the world.
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| Russian president Vladimir Putin delivers the keynote speech |
Similar to other global investment banks, such as Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, VTB Capital proves that organising international investment forums is an efficient way of developing its business and improving the general investment sentiment towards its core strategic markets.
Therefore, in 2009 we organised our first ‘Russia Calling!’ investment forum and since then we have successfully held 12 such forums in Moscow, London and New York.
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| ‘Russia Calling!’ brings together a wide range of political and business stakeholders |
The effectiveness of these events has been recognised by the international professional community. Last year the forum received two awards in the Corporate & Financial Awards – one of the most prominent international media industry awards – as well as winning ‘best event organiser’ at the IPRA Golden World Awards, for the successful implementation of ‘Russia Calling!’ investment forums.
On October 1-2 this year, the forum was attended by more participants than ever before, with over 1,500 guests from across the globe and almost 500 international and Russian investors. Gathered together were representatives from more than 50 countries around the world, including from Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with the latter accounting for 30% of all forum participants.
‘Russia Calling!’ brings together a wide range of political and business stakeholders to address the most pressing issues of the day. However, its goal has always been broader – to initiate dialogue and to shift perceptions as part of a wider discourse on the development and progress of Russia’s economy.
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| Meng Wanzhou, CFO/executive director at Huawei |
The forum provides direct access to decision-makers in Russia, who can offer first-hand information to investors. It has become an important resource for influencing investor decisions.
During this year’s event, investors showed increasing interest in the development of the Russian economy and investment opportunities in the country. For global investors, the forum is a vital way of helping them understand Russia’s positive business and economic story.
The topics chosen for discussion at ‘Russia Calling!’ are of great interest to the international investment community. During the two-day forum, participants discussed the most crucial issues impacting the Russian and global economy. Some of the topics addressed included the priorities and direction of Russian economic development.
The plenary session on ‘Russia’s development agenda – exploring new opportunities’ was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin, who delivered the keynote speech and took part in a question-and-answer session with forum participants.
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| Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman and chief executive officer of Pirelli |
Other sessions were focused on macroeconomic policies and efforts to spur regional growth, including ‘Upstreaming regional growth – leveraging stories of success’ that took place on the first day of the forum, and ‘Macroeconomic policy – crucial choices’ that preceded the plenary session on the second day of ‘Russia Calling!’.
At this year’s forum there was a great deal of important discussion on the Russian and global economy between investors, politicians and corporate executives. Statements made at the forum have been actively discussed by market participants and in the media.
This year’s forum was attended by more than 400 representatives of key international and Russian media outlets and received wide coverage. More than 2,500 articles have been published covering the forum.
This once again underlines the importance of the forum to promote portfolio and strategic investment into Russia’s economy and facilitate effective interaction between Russian business leaders and international investors.
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| Russian president Vladimir Putin takes part in a Q&A session |
Direct dialogue at the forum helps to create conditions that enable Russian companies to perform well in global markets. This is especially important today in the global business community.
In the long term, we believe that such events represent one of the most important ways of building a sustainable solution for international business partnerships and dialogue.