Today in Russian Business – Aug 7, 2008

There are doubts that a project organized by Vladimir Putin during his presidency will be completed in time. Failure to complete the plan for a conference center to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit would “jeopardize the government’s goal of developing the Far East Federal District as a gateway to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.” The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service’s clampdown on price fixing “is putting investors on the edge”. China is “a much bigger player than Russia in the world economy.” Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is optimistic about capital inflows despite the falling market. Mikhail Prokhorov‘s plan to sell a stake in Norilsk Nickel has caused the companies stocks to fall. Shares in Pharmstandard fell after Russian competition authorities started an investigation of pharmaceutical companies’ pricing policies.