| Last year was a milestone for Russia in the international capital markets. It launched its first sovereign bond issue since Tsarist days and the largest equity issue yet by a Russian corporate came to market, natural gas producer Gazprom's $429 million initial public offering in October. As Vladimir Kuznetsov, general director at Salomon Brothers, points out: "Last year Russia raised more financing abroad than in any year since perestroika." Russian entities are becoming increasingly aware of the possibilities for capital raising offered by the international markets and are preparing themselves to tap that potential. "Russian entities all have a significant capital requirement," says Richard Ogdon, director at SBC Warburg. "And there is not the money in Russia to meet that. Companies are not going to raise large sums of money either from Russian banks or from Russian institutional investors, because it is just not there at the moment. So that's good news for investment banks because access to foreign capital is a must." Not surprisingly, the mood among investment bankers in Moscow is upbeat. There is a general belief that "things are going to happen". But exactly what will happen, and at what pace, is still unclear. |