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

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

The French government today announced that it was scrapping a controversial method for safety testing oysters on mice which has long been condemned as old-fashioned and unscientific.

For years, freshly-harvested oysters have been checked for harmful toxins by means of the “mouse bioassay”, in which rodents are injected with digestive fluids from oysters.

The test, in which three mice are injected with concentrated oyster fluids, decrees that, if two of the mice have died within 24 hours, a temporary ban on local sales must be implemented.

Change In Testing Laws To Guarantee Survival Of Oyster Farms, & Mice

For five successive years, negative mice test results have resulted in sales bans in key oyster-producing locations, shutting down business during periods of high demand and forcing many farmers into bankruptcy.

But in a move that prompted widespread relief among farmers in Europe’s biggest oyster-producing country, the Ministry of Agriculture said safety would from now on be established through more advanced chemical tests.

“It is huge news. I am delighted because the political promises have finally been kept,” Olivier Laban, the president of the Arcachon oyster farmers’ association, said

Read More>The Guardian

Spyker, the Netherlands sportscar maker, has renewed its offer for Saab, giving the Swedish carmaker the prospect of an 11th-hour reprieve.

General Motors announced on Friday that it would close Saab for good, consigning the 60-year-old brand to automotive history, after talks to sell to Spyker collapsed.

However, in a spectacular act of brinkmanship, Victor Muller, Spyker’s chief executive, issued a new offer on Sunday, giving GM until 5pm today to accept.

Will Spyker's Offer Be Enough To Save Saab?

“We are returning to the table with a renewed offer that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations, and that has the full backing of the Saab management,” Mr Muller said.

“We have asked GM and all other involved parties to seriously consider this offer. Some 1,500,000 Saabs are on the road today and their proud owners would no doubt welcome the survival of this phenomenal brand.”

Spyker, which is listed on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam, would reveal no more details of its new offer other than that it eliminated the need for a loan from the European Investment Bank by the year end.

GM said on Friday that the failure to secure the loan had been one of the obstacles to concluding a deal.

Read More>Times Online