Russia should weather the financial turmoil of 2008, I fully support the idea of investing in good quality stocks in Eastern Europe.
There is a good post here-
investrusska.com
"For the risk of sounding redundant, I do not think Russia should be concerned very much about the foreign perception of their investment climate whether this discussion is raised by the upcoming power change or, in broader terms, overall country risks. Truly, I was one of the investors who lost back in 1998 and the reminiscences of GKO default are still sour. But, over the course of the last 10 years I recouped and then doubled my equity from the investment mix in Russian sectors, the biggest gainer being in the booming housing sector. I can not disclose all the deals but I can tell you that such is the investor’s lot – never yield to masses’ sentiment and look for the opportunity where everyone shies away from. The opportunities are not always in the equity markets although this seems to be the most available to us, foreign investors; however, there are tons of other tools in the EM’s (emerging markets) to generate cash. Those who are interested in some of my Russian deals could send me a PM.The truth is, I would prefer if the Russian authorities spend less time on touting the foreign investors as it could leave more opportunities for the value investors be they domestic or worldwide. I would prefer if unqualified investors continue to lose their money in HYIPs, overleveraged forex, pinksheet pump-and-dump schemes, pitiful work compensation programs, etc., etc. The more opportunities for us. Stop thinking about opportunities in terms of NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex worlds, they are just concerned about how to rip off the masses, unqualified investors, in a true sense of capitalism. Amazingly, more and more investors both in the U.S. and beyond realize it. I would recommend to check from time to time MSCI/Barra indexes, especially the one for BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). BRIC index has demonstrated 60% growth in 2007 as opposed to only 6,1% of S&P500. Ten times more! What else do we need to ask ourselves to understand where the money is flowing? Stop thinking about trusting your hard-earned cash to doubtful companies who only generates news, hype and rumours. Go overseas and find those whose products have been used daily, by millions of people. Do you think they will disappear overnight? The domestic consumption in Russia and other BRIC countries is on the rise, their savings are on the rise. Do you think they will go and buy the U.S. shares? I know I do not sound patriotic. We should have asked these U.S. companies the same questions when they started to move their offices and production overseas. Smart money (hmm, oxymoron it is!) has been further disentangling itself from a wide range of U.S.-based investments. My point is, opportunities are never there to tell the whole world about themselves. This is nonsense. After BRIC, there will be Africa but ask yourself are you prepared to invest in Africa? Just my two cents.." |
