Posted on 05/11/2005 1:20:04 PM PDT by Destro
May 11, 2005 5:20 PM
Putin demands foreign investment curbs
By Douglas Busvine
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's government on Wednesday to draft legislation to secure national control over strategic areas of the economy by curbing foreign investment.
The Kremlin press service said Putin wanted a bill readied by November 1 on limiting foreign investment in the areas of national security, infrastructure, defence, natural monopolies and strategic natural resources.
Putin's move came after celebrations in Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two were overshadowed by criticism from U.S. President George W. Bush of Russia's record on democracy and treatment of its ex-Soviet neighbours.
But rather than interpreting the instruction as a tit-for-tat move against the West, analysts said Putin was following through on policy priorities in his annual state of the nation address last month.
"This looks consistent with the government's plans from earlier this year to define strategic sectors where they would restrict foreign ownership or foreign investment," said Zsolt Papp, emerging markets economist at ABN Amro in London.
Putin also tasked Premier Mikhail Fradkov's government with implementing measures on helping repatriation of capital parked by Russians abroad, improving tax administration and fighting crime and terrorism.
All were key points of Putin's April 25 speech, where he said natural resources auctions should have a proper legal basis and demanded the creation of a definitive list of mineral deposits which must remain under Russian control.
COPYING CHINA
Following the state-driven breakup of oil group YUKOS, which hammered investors' confidence, Putin's push sheds more light on the kind of corporatist state he appears to want to create.
"Russia (is) moving toward a more Chinese-style resource allocation," said Philip Poole, head of emerging markets research at HSBC. "Effectively you have combination of a planned part of the economy with a functioning market economy."
A Kremlin official moved to reassure investors there was no threat to plans to scrap restrictions on foreign ownership of shares in gas monopoly Gazprom.
The so-called "ring-fence" should come down once the state regains control of Gazprom, Arkady Dvorkovich, the head of the Kremlin's analytical staff, told Interfax news agency.
Exactly when that will happen is in doubt, however, as a planned merger between Gazprom and state oil firm Rosneft -- in which the state's share in Gazprom would increase to over 50 percent from 38 percent -- is on the rocks.
Investors have placed huge bets on the ring-fence coming down, leading Gazprom's Russian shares to double in value last year and narrowing a discount with the small amount of depositary shares listed in London.
BP CONCERNS
Concerns about a proposed subsoil law on minerals exploitation have centred on BP's $7 billion (3.7 billion pounds) Russian oil venture TNK-BP, but the company says it won key reassurances at talks between Putin and Chief Executive John Browne last month.
"This was expected, and we remain confident that it will not hinder growth in our operations there," said a BP spokesman in London.
Elena Anankina, oil and gas analyst at Standard & Poor's in Moscow said it remained to be seen how the government defines strategic resources. "It seems unlikely that licences could be withdrawn because of the legal principles involved," she added.
Equally, the order appeared to be in line with earlier plans to bar foreign investors from securing control over a hit-list of untapped resources -- such as gold deposit Sukhoi Log or the Udokan copper field -- both of which may be tendered.
"We agree with the government's position that big strategic deposits, including those in the precious metals field, should be developed only by Russian companies," said a spokesman for Russian metals miner Polimetall.
"But this doesn't mean that Russian companies should not be allowed to cooperate with Western companies."
Reuters
I think any country where the government was stronger than its megacorporate interests would have such a policy. Since our government works for the fortune 100 in many areas, of course, we don't.
Putin's biggest enemies are of course the globalists - because Putin advocates a protectionist policy.
Don't be so enthused by this. This is about the Russian State tightening its grip on the economy. State control always sounds good and nationalistic but is disasterous in practice. Putin doesn't understand freedom or capitalism.
It is not state control - it is saying only Russian interests (still private) can own strategic resources/industries - a policy that America used to have.
Economic nationalism doesn't work.
Is it me? Or does it seem like Putin is slowly trying to take Russia back to the days of USSR?
It is you. More like Putin is taking Russia back to America circa the 50s.
Adam Smith wrote in 1776 that "defense is more important than opulence."
Export Control Act 1949 required the denial of export licenses to items that contribute to military or economic potential of a communist bloc country. Before this act, scrap metals were exported to Japan and the Japanese used them to produce war materials to attack the United States.
He was right. But this isn't necessary for Russia's defense. It's just Jingoism.
Unless you were black. But I was talking about the economics of that time as in the Export Control Act 1949 and other such acts.
If so what are you worried about? Communisim doesn't work.
Even in economics - either the mafiosi/oligarchs will steal/embezzle it, or the mafioso state itself (a la USSR of thucking memory) will squander and waste it. Either way, it is no USA of 1950s.
http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/export/provisions.htm
The Export Control Act of 1949 gave the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Export Administration primary responsibility for administering and enforcing export controls on dual-use items, and for the first time defined three reasons for the imposition of these controls - national security, foreign policy, and short supply. Upon the expiration of the Export Control Act, the Export Administration Act (EAA) of 1969 took effect on January 1, 1970. The EAA was reestablished in 1979, and amended several times since. The Act lapsed on August 20, 1994.
In recent years the Clinton Administration has made major progress in eliminating unnecessary and ineffective export controls and streamlining the export control process.
MCTL: Militarily Critical Technologies List The Militarily Critical Technologies List (MCTL), which is revised each year to reflect changes in technologies and the world environment, is the Defense Department’s best guess as to what technologies and equipment must be protected from unauthorized export. These technologies are perceived as providing the key to maintaining US military superiority.
Once desperate to leave, now Jews are returning to Russia, land of opportunity
http://www.google.com/search?q=jews+Russia+returning&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N
"Can't you see that he's setting up the chessboard now?"
Some can see the "chessboard" and some think it is only a natural action of taking care of business.
Watching the transformation or the appearance of a transformation in Russia is nearly as much of an act as the liberals claiming "Christianity".
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