Intercultural Business News

A former mechanic whose life has been described as a proletarian success story was today unveiled as Russia’s richest man, in a survey revealing that the country’s oligarchs have bounced back triumphantly from last year’s financial crisis.

The business magazine Finans named the low-profile steel magnate Vladimir Lisin as the wealthiest of Russia’s 77 billionaires, worth $18.8bn (£12bn). In second place with $17.85bn was Mikhail Prokhorov, the metals and banking magnate who came top last year.

Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club, was third. His wealth was put at $17bn. It is the first time that Abramovich has failed to make the top two in the Finans list, though the Russian magazine noted wryly that he was still wealthy enough to fund his Premier League team for the “next 100 years”.

Vladimir Lisin, Russias New Richest Man

Lisin, below, has appeared before in the top 10 on Russia’s rich lists, but this is the first time he has sprung to global prominence. The businessman owes his wealth to the Novolipetsk steel mill, one of the world’s largest. He also owns an electricity firm. Representatives at his industrial complex in Lipetsk, west Russia, declined to comment.

Born in 1956, Lisin got his first job in 1975 as a mechanic in a Soviet coalmine. He studied at Siberia’s Metallurgy Institute and took a job as a steelworker. In 1992 he joined a group of tenacious traders, the Trans-World Group, who won control of Russia’s steel and aluminium industry.

When the partners split in 2000, Lisin received 13% of the firm and later won a controlling share. Married with three children, he is a keen clay pigeon shooter and cigar smoker. He has a collection of rare 19th-century cast-iron equine sculptures from Kasli, a town in the middle Urals.

Read More>The Guardian

India is one of the top three countries where British companies can do better business than anywhere, indicating a revolution in the way 
Britain trades and invests with the world.

A new official report released today said India, Eastern Europe and other countries of Asia are set to become better places for British companies to make money than Western Europe.

The report by Leeds University Business School, commissioned by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), ranks the 52 countries offering the best opportunities for British companies before and after the ‘credit crunch’, and provides an intriguing insight into where UK PLC has been, and should be, investing time and resources to develop international business.

British Businesses Need To Look To Pstures New

Between 2005 and 2007, the countries offering the best opportunities were mostly Britain’s long-established trading partners: United States (1), Germany (2), France (3), Ireland (4), the Netherlands (5), Belgium (6), Spain (7), Italy (8), China (9) and Japan (10).

Five years later, the economic powerhouses of China, India and the US remain dominant, but beyond them the landscape is transformed, with the top ten countries increasingly dominated by the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, the Far East and Africa.

Between 2012 and 2014, the top ten is predicted to be: China (1), US (2), India (3), Libya (4), Ukraine (5); Russia (6), Romania (7), Korea (8), Mexico (9) and Singapore (10).

Just one western European country - Sweden - makes it into the top 20, while many of the UK’s biggest trading partners in the West slip dramatically, Germany (30), France (34), Ireland (42), the Netherlands (37), Belgium (44), Spain (47) and Italy (46).

Read More>Economic Times

US investigations into the recall crisis at Toyota took a sharp turn last night as it emerged the Japanese motor giant hired former federal vehicle safety agents who may have been instrumental in preventing previous inquiries into the car company.

Details of personnel links between Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were revealed as the Japanese car company pledged to be more open in its dealing with governments and customers. Meanwhile, President Obama has spoken on the controversy for the first time, telling all carmakers they risk damage to their brands if they do not handle safety recalls properly.

Will More Revelations Come Out Against Toyota?

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million-cars globally after reports of faulty accelerator pedals, dangerous floor mats and, latterly, defective brake systems on its flagship petrol-electric hybrid, the Prius.

In the US, Toyota is already under investigation and enduring a hail of criticism for its handling of the recalls, with allegations that defects in cars which stretch back over most of the last decade are responsible for 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Read More>Times Online

Britain and India today agreed the text of a deal that will allow British companies to enter the fray against Russia and France in the scramble to supply nuclear power equipment worth an estimated $150 billion.

The breakthrough, which emerged from talks held in London, comes after international sanctions that had prevented India from buying civilian nuclear technology for 30 years were lifted in 2008.

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said: “This is a very, very significant advance, and I look forward to that text being signed off at a ministerial level before long.”

The countries declined to give further details, but officials said it would provide “major trade opportunities” for British businesses.

UK Will Now Be Able To Bid On New Power Plant Production In India

 
India is expected to increase the power it generates from nuclear sources 100-fold in the next 40 years and American Government offials estimate that deals worth at least $150 billion will be generated.

A British Government spokesman added: “Fifty years after building the world’s first commercially operated power station, the UK is still one of the market leaders in this sector. It’s an industry that earns the UK £700 million in overseas business every year and employs over 80,000 people across the nuclear supply chain.”

Read More>Times Online

German megacorporation Siemens is setting itself up to get a slice of the Indian market. The company plans to double its capital expenditure to €250 million and wants to create 8000 new jobs in the country.

Siemens’ CEO Peter Löscher said he wants to grow the market share for infrastructure technologies, such as water plants and power, from the current five percent to 10 percent by 2012.

The workforce will expand from 17.000 to 25.000, reports the Financial Times Deutschland. Löscher was quoted as saying the growth rates of India and other developing countries were remarkable, which is why Siemens needed to expand its presence.

Will Siemens Indian Arm Expand?

He added that every third Indian has no power connection, which is why the Indian government wants to add 150 gigawatts of power in the next seven years - the equivalent of the total power capacity in Germany.

Twenty percent of it is supposed to come from renewable energy sources - which is why Siemens will invest €70 million in the construction of a factory for wind turbines in India. Löscher, who is currently in New Delhi, said the first turbines are to be shipped in 2012.

Read More>Tech Eye