The wild East : negotiating the Russian financial frontier / Peter Westin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Westin, Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Investments, Foreign--Russia (Federation).

Investments, Foreign.

Russia (Federation).

Russia (Federation)--Economic conditions--1991-.

Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

xxi, 210 pages, 6 unnumbered pages of color plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Pearson Education, 2001.

Summary:

With the disintegration of the 'Evil Empire' the world's largest country became the world's newest democracy. Many speculators rushed in to occupy the territory vacated by the shrinking state but the bullish expectations were replaced by frustration as the country toppled on the brink of financial meltdown. Faced with an ongoing war in Chechnya, a disintegrating infrastructure, widespread corruption, and a currency in free-fall, the Russian economic market collapsed, losing 84% of its economic value in only eight months.

The economy has now regrouped and Russia is emerging from the ashes at a pace that has surprised many observers. The question is: has Russia's financial frontier finally become the new land of opportunity, or is it still a land of pipe dreams?

The Wild East analyses the Russian economy from the unique angle of leading international business figures who have made incredible profits, as well as those who were brutally burnt. Between them they unearth the real, underlying causes for the country's economic problems, and provide an insight into future issues and how the transition to economic recovery is taking place.

Contents:

Preface: The Wild East / Erik Berglof xvii

Part I Exploring the wilderness

1 Banking regulation in a context of extreme legal underdevelopment: lessons from the Russian meltdown / Enrico Perotti 3

2 Russia's investment adventure: buying in or bailing out? / Peter Westin 11

Part II Russia: the ultimate adventure

3 Tight politics and easy economics: the new Russian model and its parallel to Latin America / Dean LeBaron 35

4 Russian capital markets 1994-2001: a ground-level account / Peter M. Halloran 44

5 The Russian crisis: what the Russia analysts 'missed', 1990-8 / Letitia Rydjeski 54

6 Corporate governance in Russia: the battle for shareholders' rights / Mark Mobius, Roman Filatov 65

7 Small enterprises in Russia: surviving the crisis? / Stephan Boven 73

Part III Moving the frontier

8 Bubble / Al Breach 89

9 Corporate consolidation: Russia's latest lurch towards capitalism / Roland Nash 103

10 Debt servicing, Russian style / Kasper Bartholdy 121

Part IV Out of the wilderness

11 The challenge of economic policy, investments and growth / Yevgeny Gavrilenkov, Niclas Sundstrom 133

12 Russia: financial market prospects / Goohoon Kwan 178

13 Conclusions: half empty or half full? / Peter Westin 198.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1903684099

OCLC:

59522479