Oct
  2019
ISSUE
No. 243

  USRCC Business Newsletter
USRCC Activities
We are very excited to announce that 2019 marks the USRCC's 10th anniversary !

The 10th Anniversary will be a year-long celebration commemorating the USRCC's 10 years of existence. Join us in celebration at our events and support us in continuing our mission! 

The 2019 events will feature high caliber speakers, bring together the most influential key business leaders, experts and decision makers, and will provide our members and stakeholders with the perfect educational and networking opportunities. 

We are looking forward to another successful year! 
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Members' News
Novatek estimates cost of 40% of Arctic LNG-2 at $10 bln

Tass.com, October 30, 2019:  Ten percent of the shares went to Chinese CNOOC and CNPC, French Total and a consortium of Japanese companies Mitsui and Jogme . The total cost of 40% in the Arctic LNG-2 natural gas liquefaction plant construction project (10% of which were bought by Chinese CNOOC and CNPC, as well as French Total and a consortium of Japanese companies Mitsui and Jogme) is 675 bln rubles ($10 bln)," Novatek said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The profit from the sale of 10% and 30% of the participation in the Arctic LNG-2 project totals 675 bln rubles," the company stated. "For the three months that ended on September 30, 2019, we recognized a profit from the sale of a 30% interest in Arctic LNG-2 LLC to three new participants (Japanese and Chinese partners) in the amount of 366.39 bln rubles before income tax. As a result of these transactions, the group's share in Arctic LNG-2 decreased to 60%," Novatek said in its IFRS report.  Read more...
Oilfield Services Company Weatherford Gets Drilling Contracts in Russia

Russiabusinesstoday.com, November 1, 2019:   Swiss-based oilfield service firm Weatherford has signed two contracts worth $67 million for drilling services with two major operators in Russia, the company said in a press releaseOperations on the first contract began in July 2019 and will continue until the end of 2022. Weatherford is providing logging, measurement, rotary steerable systems, drilling and geo-data interpretation services at several oilfields in Western Siberia.  Read more...
The Week in Review
Anapa Airport to open charter flights to Dubai in December

Tass.com, November 1, 2019The winter flight schedule also plans to introduce flights Anapa - Yerevan Anapa Airport will open charter flights to Dubai i  accordance with the winter schedule, press service of the Krasnodar International Airport said on Friday. "As part of the winter flight schedule from October 27, 2019, to March 28, 2020, charter flights to Dubai (UAE) are planned from Anapa International Airport. In total, three flights will be performed: departures on December 26, 2019, January 2 and 9, 2020," the press service said.  Read more...
Russia's energy minister discusses gas talks with German special representative

Tass.com, October 31. 2019:  Russia's Minister of Energy Alexander Novak discussed the results of the latest gas consultations of the EU, Russia, and Ukraine with the German government's authorized representative for gas transit through Ukraine Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, the ministry said on Thursday."During the meeting, topical issues of energy cooperation between Russia and Germany were discussed, as well as the results of trilateral consultations at the ministerial level in the Russia-EU-Ukraine format on gas transit through Ukraine after 2019, held in Brussels on October 28, 2019," the ministry informed Read more...
Russia is Top Market for Crypto Exchange Binance, CEO Says

Russiabusinesstoday.com,  October 30, 2019:  The CEO of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, used a recent event and his first visit to Russia to praise the country's crypto market, Coin Desk reportsZhao said Russia is his company's key market, as one of the most active environments in the global blockchain space. When asked about who will have the most influence on the crypto market in the near future, Binance CEO replied Vladimir Putin, adding that if passed, a potential crypto regulating bill would be a good thing for the industry. In the last one year, Malta-based Binance has expanded to many countries around the world. The Binance CEO said that there is a very strong programmer talent in Russia, and he added they should look into the developers' office in the country.  Read more...
Sberbank to Boost Digital Economy Assets with Mail.ru Stake Purchase

Themoscowtimes, October 30, 2019In a bid to expand more into digital economy, Russia's biggest bank,   Sberbank , is buying Gazprombank's holding stake in internet company   Mail.ru , Reuters   reported  on Tuesday.  Sberbank will buy a 35 percent stake in MF Technologies, which has ownership of 58.9 percent of voting rights for Mail.ru.   Gazprombank  is a financial group owned by the state. MF Technologies is a collaboration between Megafon, Rostec, Gazprombank and USM holdings. It was formed in 2018 and it has a 5.2 percent stake in Mail.ru Group, as well as the control of most of its voting rights.  Mail.ru's CEO Boris Dobrodeyev said the move would help to deepen ties with Sberbank and hopefully bring about more cooperation in the field.  Read more...
Russia Imports First Shipment of Guatemalan Vegetables 

Russiabusinesstoday.com, October 30, 2019:  This month, Guatemalan company Frutas Tropicales de Guatemala SA (Frutesa) sent the first shipments of Chinese peas and sweet peas, along with Hass avocado grown in the country to Russia,  Fresh Plaza  reports. 
According to Gloria Elena Polanco, the founder and president of  Frutesa , Russia's biggest demand to date is for prepackaged products that are ready to be placed on supermarket shelves . Read more...
Russia Keen to Revive Biggest Nigerian Steel Plant

Russiabusinesstoday.com, October 31, 2019: The biggest steel plant in Nigera could be revived with Russian help after decades of inactivity, Nigeria's mining minister has said, according to  Bloomberg Construction of Ajaokuta Steel began in 1979 with assistance from the then-Soviet Union, but the facility never started production and has sucked up $8 billion of public money. Repeated attempts to revive the flagship project by transferring it to private investors failed and the government terminated the concessions.  Read more...
Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities
"Engineering formula" contest of International Army games 2019 held in Tyumen, Russia

Xinhuanet.com, November 1, 2019Team of Russia competes during the "Engineering formula" contest of the International Army games 2019 in Tyumen, Russia, Aug. 10, 2019. The International Army Games 2019 runs from Aug. 3 to 17. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)Teams of Russia (L) and Belarus compete during the "Engineering formula" contest of the International Army games 2019 in Tyumen, Russia, Aug. 10, 2019. The International Army Games 2019 runs from Aug. 3 to 17.  Read more...
CIS Business News
Turkmenistan offers Malaysia to use transport corridor through Caspian Sea

En.trend.az, October 28, 2019:  The prospects for cooperation in the field of international transport and logistics systems are discussed in Ashgabat during the Turkmen-Malaysian talks at the highest level,  Trend reports with reference to the Turkmen government.  "Turkmenistan, together with other countries, is creating multi-directional transit-transport and infrastructure logistics corridors in the East-West and North-South directions," said Turkmen President Gurbang uly Berdimuhamedov during talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who arrived in Ashgabat with an official visit.  Read more...
Azerbaijan, UN agree on access of local startups to world market

Azernews.az, October 28, 2019:  
Azerbaijan and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have discussed the access of Azerbaijani startups to the world market. 
The sides signed Azerbaijan-UNCTAD joint declaration on Cooperation for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals during a meeting between Minister of Transport, Communication and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade and UNCTAD Secretary General Mukisa Kituyi, held at Innovations Agency on October 26. 
They also discussed prospects for cooperation and the ways of ensuring access of new local companies to the world market. 
Later, Mukisa Kituyi met with local startups. During the event, startups operating at the Barama Business Incubation and Acceleration Center, as well as at the innovation ecosystem of Azerbaijan, held presentations of their projects. 
Read more...
Eng.belta.by, October 30, 2019: The National Bank of Belarus and the Central Bank of Russia agreed on approaches to the deepening of the integration between the two countries in the financial markets at the meeting of the Interbank Monetary Council, BelTA learned from the information and public relations department of the National Bank. The meeting in Minsk was attended by Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Pavel Kallaur and Chairperson of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, other representatives of the central banks of the two countries.  Read more...
US-Russia Related News in Russian
Новости недели
Марат Зяббаров осмотрел опытные поля ТатНИИСХ и обсудил с учеными перспективы отрасли

Аgro.tatarstan.ru, 1 Ноября 2019 г:
Сегодня заместитель Премьер-министра РТ - министр сельского хозяйства и продовольствия РТ Марат Зяббаров осмотрел опытные поля, технологическую площадку «Дня поля в Татарстане» и научные лаборатории ТатНИИСХ. Министра сопровождали первый заместитель министра Наиль Залаков, заместитель министра Ильдус Габдрахманов, руководитель ТатНИИСХ ФИЦ КазНЦ РАН Марсель Тагиров, а также другие ответственные лица.
В ходе осмотра Марат Зяббаров ознакомился с состоянием посевов и производственно-технологической базой института, а также обсудил с учеными исследования в области растениеводства.   Читать далее...
Первые пассажиры поедут по железной дороге в Крым в 2019 году

Ria.ru, 1 ноября 2019: Первые пассажиры поедут по железной дороге в Симферополь и Севастополь уже в этом году, сообщает российский Минтранс.  В ведомстве подчеркнули, что это произойдет после ввода в эксплуатацию железнодорожной части моста через Керченский пролив "Для осуществления транспортного сообщения Росжелдором были разработаны маршруты и графики движения поездов, которые станут частью единой транспортной системы железнодорожного сообщения страны", - говорится в сообщении. Возить пассажиров с материковой части России в Крым и обратно будет частная российская компания "Гранд Сервис Экспресс". В министерстве отметили, что с этой инициативой выступила сама компания.  Читать далее...
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The U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce (USRCC)  is  a 501(c)(6) no t for  profit  corporation with its headquarters  in Houston, Texas,  and offices in the Midwest and the Northeast. The USRCC  was established in 2009 to promote  trade and investment  between  the  Russia n Federation  and the U.S. A.  
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