The Russian economy, which was severely affected by the 2008 global economic and financial crisis, is demonstrating robust recovery and becoming increasingly attractive for international investors, the president of NYSE Euronext said on Tuesday.
"Russia has taken a heavy loss during the period of crisis, however, it is turning around very fast and has experienced a very positive GDP growth in 2010," Dominique Cerutti, who is also a deputy CEO of NYSE Euronext, told RIA Novosti.
Cerutti is expected to arrive in Russia to attend the St. Petersburg international economic forum on June 17-19.
"Russia has a history of volatility but has the know-how on coping with difficulties and capable to sort out many of its problems in a relatively fast pace," he said.
NYSE Euronext is a leading global operator of stock exchanges in New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon. It also operates the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE). NYSE Euronext holds the first place in the world with market capitalization of $29.7 trillion and the shareholders' equity of $14.4 billion based on the results of 2009.
The influential financier said Russian corporate papers circulating on western trading floors offered a good opportunity for investment.
"We view the development of Russian economy as a great opportunity for international investors to participate and contribute to such development and one of the avenues for such participation is by having Russian companies conduct their IPO on NYSE Euronext's various platforms in the USA and/or Europe."
Moscow has already proved its potential to turn into a major world financial center and St. Petersburg has also good chances to capture similar positions in the near future as industrial growth accelerates, he said.
"We believe that in the development of the Russian economy all of the major cities in Russia could become financial centers for its own geographical region. In a very short time, Moscow has already reached a point where it can compete in the financial sector with other major cities in Europe and St. Petersburg should be able to develop similar capabilities in the near future," he said.
Cerutti said, however, that Russia's excessive dependence on raw material prices was a major risk for the country.
"As long as the commodity prices are on the rise Russia will do well and in particular its basic resource sector will do extremely well, however, Russia must develop its other industries such as technology, consumer goods and others as an equilibrium and not rely so heavily on the volatility of basic resources," he said.
Cerutti and his team from NYSE Euronext will participate in various panel sessions at the St. Petersburg forum, among others, the session entitled "Finance after the Crisis" to be held by Sberbank and the World Economic Forum, NYSE Euronext team will also conduct many one-on-one meetings with Russian politicians and businesses.
NEW YORK, June 1 (RIA Novosti)
