Today in Russian Business – April 18, 2008

The Finance Ministry offered up to 300 billion rubles in government funds to Russian banks, but total borrowing at the final auction reached just 23.6 billion. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry has raised its inflation forecast for 2008 to 10%. Billionaires Mikhail Prokhorov and Vladimir Potanin have finally agreed on how to split their assets in a “mutually beneficial agreement”. Norway’s Telenor says a $3.8 billion lawsuit filed by Farimex Products, a fellow shareholder in mobile firm VimpelCom, is groundless. Interfax and LexisNexis have formed an agreement to jointly promote their information systems in Russia.