Today in Russian Business – May 27, 2010

The head of the EU delegation to Russia has, according to Reuters, stated that Russia could become a member of the WTO within a year.  The Moscow Times reports on Anatoly Chubais’ pitching skills.  The economic recovery has seen Vimpelcom reap a profit of $392 million in the first quarter, beating forecasts.  U.S. investor Kenneth Dart owns ‘large minority stakes’ in several Russian phone companies, Bloomberg reports.  The OECD has said that as Russia’s economy is growing faster than expected, stimulus measures could be scaled back.  The organization has also warned that oil’s role in the economic recovery could lead to a boom-and-bust cycle.  Complaints from carmakers and oil companies about the cost of metal have prompted Putin and Sechin to quiz metal firms on their price hikes.  VTB has revealed its plans for boosting profitability by 15% by 2013.  Cargill will invest $30 million to build a chicken-processing facility Yefremov to furnish McDonald’s with its nuggets.  Rusal is apparently looking forward to what it predicts to be a doubling of domestic aluminum sales by next year.  The main shareholder of Russia’s potash miner Uralkali, billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, is looking to sell his controlling stake.