According to the results of the August trades at the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), the price of stocks of one of the largest Russia’s general contractors, the Turkish company Enka, fell by 22%. However, the ISE index fell by 7% only. In Enka explain the severe capitalization drop by the problems of their European customers that can’t finance the projects. The international analysts say that the stocks fell on the background of the war conflict with South Ossetia, and the investors are afraid for the success of Enka’s business in Russia because of Turkey’s membership in NATO.

The stockholders of the Russian RosEvroGroup have found the buyer for its bank asset. The largest bank of China - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - will purchase 100% of RosEvroBank (former joint-stock bank Loubyanka). The investment of the Chinese bank becomes the first purchase in Russia made by the investors from the Asia-Pacific region.

The German auto concern Volkswagen is planning to expand its production in Russia. The corresponding statement was made during the opening of the International Moscow Auto Salon 2008.

According to the results of 1H 2008, the vodka segment with more than RUR 100 a bottle, where the majority of the federal brands are presented, became larger than the “people’s” segment with less than RUR 100 a bottle for the first time, and the stake of the Top 10 of the vodka companies approached the mark of 50%, as calculated the agency Business Analytica. The regional producers have also faced the pressure of the federal companies: the investment bankers and market participants fix the growth of offers about the sale of the regional distilleries

On August, 22 the Russian company Severstal Resources, the mining division of Severstal, announced about the intention to purchase the business of the American company PBS Coals Corporation. PBS that comprises six mines and six coal strip mines is engaged in extraction, processing and sale of coking and steam coal. In the fiscal year ended March, 31, 2008, PBS extracted about 2,4 million tons of coal, as well as 1,5 million tons of coking coal. PBS’s coal supplies total 133,5 million tons, and coal resources - 228,3 million tons.

Recently several statements about intensification of the Chinese automakers’ projects in Russia were announced at once. Despite the severe obstacles in the way of China’s companies in Russia, the prospect of settling at the growing market is of primary importance for the players from the most densely populated country in the world

The Russian company Gazprom plans to invest the record sum of RUR 1 trillion in new projects on gas extraction and transportation. That is the way how the monopoly responds to the Andris Piebalgs’s accusations, the EU Energy Commissioner, of the insufficient financing of this activity area. This news came out when Gazprom’s capitalization was demonstrating the severe fall and resulted in the 1,4-1,6% price rise of the monopoly stocks

The head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemiev kept the promise of issuing Mechel with lenient penalty. The turnover fine for Igor Zyuzin’s company is only 5%, or RUR 790 million rub, and the compulsory price cut is only 15%, when the maximum is 30%. Mechel’s ADR (American depositary receipts) became champions of the growth on the background of the severe market drop.

JSC Russian Railways (RZD) approved establishment of a company specializing in transportation of grain. RZD’s subsidiary - the First Freight Company - becomes a controlling stockholder. And its partner, with 49%, becomes a joint venture of such forwarders as LP Trans and TechnoTrans that earlier have been accused of gaining excess profits from exclusive relations with JSC RZD by the grain market participants.

Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) (its core beneficiary is Vladimir Lisin that controls about 85% stocks) declared about a purchase of the US pipe and tube products manufacturer John Maneely Company (JMC) from a stockholders’ group that lists the private equity fund Carlyle Group and the Zekelman family. The deal sum totals $3,53 billion.