Today in Russian Business – July 14, 2008

Russia’s Finance Ministry says that troubles at US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not pose a threat to the country’s gold and foreign currency reserves. Russia holds about $100 billion in US agencies’ debt, but says it has no immediate plans to reallocate. German Gref says that global financial turmoil will help Sberbank become one of the world’s top 10 banks by market capitalization in the next five years. Sukhoi will announce 30 new orders for its Superjet-100 passenger aircraft this week. Trade between Russia and Belarus could top $32 billion in 2008 compared with over $26 billion in 2007. Mobile holding company Sistema is seeking to buy an operator in Bangladesh.