Today in Russian Business – October 8, 2009

Reuters has a feature on the nanotechnology surge; Rusnano head Anatoly Chubais sees the crisis as an opportunity to drive the economy away from oil and gas.  Chubais has apparently said that Russia’s Moscow Bank may create an innovation market that would have a trading floor the equivalent of Nasdaq.  Bloomberg reports on how the collapse in oil and gas prices has pushed Vladimir Putin towards economic reform.  Rushydro is looking for a 10-year, $234.7 million loan to pay for some of the repairs to the Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant.  Truck maker Kamaz intends to establish two joint ventures with US company Case New Holland.  To prevent the ruble from strengthening and assist exporters, Russia’s central bank reportedly bought between $750 million and $1 billion in foreign currency yesterday.  Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is quoted in the Moscow Times as saying that the best place to invest during the crisis is in debt restructuring and has lamented the fact that the government has made cuts in infrastructure.  Russia’s richest man apparently believes that his newly-acquired New Jersey Nets basketball team will become profitable in 2011-12.