Today in Russian Business – Jan 13, 2010

Troubled car maker Avtovaz is hoping to increase production by 51% this year.  The Audit Chamber has concluded that the company’s previous management is responsible for the lamentable financial state of the Lada-manufacturer.  VTB CEO Andrei Kostin has suggested that loan rates may return to pre-crisis levels this year.  Martin Gilman in a Moscow Times op-ed offers Russia some praise for its ‘economic management’ over the past ten years, which has, to his mind, seen the country pull through crisis after crisis.  Retailer Magnit’s takings increased by almost a third in 2009 due to its expansion.  The Communications and Press Ministry has apparently cautioned the government against deals between Alfa Group and Norway’s Telenor and Sweden’s TeliaSonera which could result in foreign companies gaining control over the country’s major mobile operators.  The Russian government has reportedly postponed its planned $677 million capital injection for Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd., the Indian mobile operator controlled by Russian conglomerate Sistema.