Today in Russian Business – May 4, 2010

Novolipetsk Steel Chairman Vladimir Lisin has told the Moscow Times that stimulating production in the face of overtight regulations is Russia’s biggest challenge.  Russian private investment bank Renaissance Capital is anticipating double returns on its 2010 Africa revenue after acquiring the South African broker BJM Securities as part of a spate of equity deals in the continent.  Molybdenum mine producer Strikeforce Mining & Resources Plc is hoping to raise between $150 and $200 million on a Hong Kong IPO.  ‘Until Mr Deripaska’s peers follow him to Hong Kong, talk of a brave new Sino-Russian financial axis will remain just that’.  According to Bloomberg, Russian manufacturing growth shot up in April to the highest level in almost two years as orders increased and companies began to recruit.  Did the volcano re-ignite Aeroflot’s ambitions for European success?  The FT examines.  The Wall Street Journal looks at how Mikhail Prokhorov ‘fixed‘ Russia’s ailing Biathlon Union.