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Strategies & Market Trends : Strictly: Drilling II -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Pembleton who wrote (18351)	9/5/2002 8:22:48 AM
From: Frank Pembleton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36161

From Russia, With Love Interview by Ken Ernhofer Russia is seen as a risky and dangerous place to invest in. But there are really quite a few opportunities if you know where to look, says Troika Dialogue Former Banker Daniel Wolfe Summary Daniel Wolfe is an American entrepreneur who lived and worked in Moscow for 8 years. He was head of private banking and acting president of Asset Management at a Russian Bank, Troika Dialogue. Wolfe holds Gazprom stock, which is Russia's gas monopoly, supplying over a third of the natural gas to Europe. Wolfe believes in investing in Russia, even though Canada's total bilateral trade is only $866 million a year. Compare that with Canada's trade with the U.S. at $1 Billion A DAY. Wolfe likes Russia for a few reasons. They are collecting more taxes, and their budget has been balanced for 2 years. Wolfe says Russia's debt burden is low on a relative basis. Reforms put in by the Russia government are making the economy more attractive. They have the lowest tax rate for individuals in Europe, and foreign trade is in surplus. On a strategic basis, Russia is the most important producers of oil to westerners. There has been plenty of criticism that Canadian entrepreneurs have lost their shirts because of Russian rules or the lack of rules. But Wolfe says the laws have been changing, and are getting better. Wolfe says investing in Russian companies is a good idea because relative to other markets, Russian companies are inexpensive. He thinks most of the growth will come from the oil and gas sector, wireless, and the retail sector. investorcanada.com