MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti) - The volume of initial public offerings by Russian companies in 2006 grew by more than five-fold year-on-year, the economics minister said Friday.
German Gref said 22 companies held IPOs in 2006 compared with 13 in 2005 and the value increased from $4.6 billion to $22 billion.
The state-owned company Rosneft raised $10.4 billion last summer in Moscow and London in the biggest IPO in Russia's corporate history and the world's fifth largest.
Gref also said the development of Russia's economy in 2006 was characterized by the growth in the financial markets, the banking sector, and the increase in real incomes.
He said real incomes grew by 10.2% and wages by 13.2% in 2006.
