Today in Russian Business – March 11, 2011

The latest Forbes stats on the world’s richest people saw Russia scoring high, but it’s nothing to be proud of, says ITAR-TASS, the figures ‘merely underline the glaring social inequality in the country, which cannot be seen in any other post-socialist states in Europe.‘  Members of foreign companies including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and of domestic banks like VTB and Sberbank will join a committee of 27, brought together to advise President Dmitry Medvedev on how to turn Moscow into an international financial center.  Russia’s feed wheat is leading the decline in world grain prices, with a 4% price drop per ton this week.  The BBC reports on Russia’s measures to attract foreign investment from carmakers, including tax breaks and scrappage schemes.  A group of Polish investors are considering setting up production facilities in Russia, reasoning that ‘it is far more profitable to manufacture goods for the Russian market on Russian territory than import them from Poland‘.  WTO accession talks between Russia and the US will be mediated by Switzerland, which will have to find a solution to the ‘Georgian problem‘.  A US trade representative says that Russia’s successful accession is in his country’s interests.