Author: Steven Sahiounie

Sber’s revenues reached nearly $10.5 billion in the first eight months of the year Russia’s largest lender, Sber, has posted record earnings for January-August this year, the bank’s CEO, German Gref, told reporters at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on Monday. Gref announced that the lender had earned 999 billion rubles ($10.5 billion) in the first eight months of the year, with a return on capital above 25%. He also noted that the over-the-top results “mean that we are on track to finish the year better than our previous forecasts in terms of the return on equity.” The bank’s…

Investing domestically is safer due to foreign sanctions, the Russian president says Western countries are no longer safe for Russian businesses, President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday as he called on the nation’s entrepreneurs to invest at home. Speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin suggested domestic large-scale infrastructure projects and urban tourism development as promising areas of investment. “I have already addressed our entrepreneurs, many of whom have faced certain pressure from certain partners. And I would like to repeat once again today: it is more reliable and better, of course, to invest…

Only 35% of subsoil has been explored in the region so far, the Russian president has revealed Most of Russia’s Far East has never been prospected for resources, providing the country’s mining industry an excellent opportunity for significant growth, President Vladimir Putin stated on Tuesday. During his address at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin elaborated that this could ensure Russia’s resource sovereignty and establish a foundation for developing new materials, microelectronics, and promising energy sources. He emphasized that it has the potential to foster the growth of domestic environmentally-friendly technologies, nature conservation efforts, scientific…

Alfa-Bank plans to open offices in Beijing and Shanghai  Russia’s largest private lender Alfa-Bank is set to open offices in China, the bank revealed on Monday. Alfa-Bank’s board of directors has announced plans to open two offices in Beijing and Shanghai and will soon submit the required registration documents to the People’s Bank of China. According to the announcement, Alfa-Bank plans to become the first private Russian bank to open fully-fledged branches in two key cities in China at once, as it views expansion in the Asian powerhouse as “strategically important.” Since the beginning of the year, Alfa-Bank has…

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was received on Tuesday by the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, during a special state visit to the sultanate. During the reception, the Crown Prince conveyed the greetings of the Saudi King Salman to Sultan Haitham, who also conveyed his greetings to the Saudi King. During the reception, the leaders held talks during which the fraternal relations between the two brotherly countries were reviewed. Source: Arab News

The Russian foreign minister underscored that the first step for talks between Russia and Ukraine should be the cancellation of Vladimir Zelensky’s decree banning dialogue with Moscow Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the longer Kiev delays negotiations with Moscow, the more difficult it will be to reach an agreement later. “President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that we are not walking away from negotiations, but those [in Ukraine] who dodge talks should understand that the longer they procrastinate, the more difficult it will be to reach an agreement later,” Lavrov said on the Rossiya-1 TV channel. “This…

Egypt declared three days of mourning on Tuesday “in solidarity with our brothers in Morocco and Libya” for the victims of the earthquake and storm that hit the two North African countries in recent days.“President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi extended his as well as the Egyptian people’s sincere condolences over the victims of the humanitarian catastrophes in Morocco and Libya,” spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.“Three days of mourning were declared in the Arab Republic of Egypt in solidarity with the brothers in Morocco and Libya over the victims,” Fahmy added.El-Sisi gave directives to the Egyptian Armed Forces to provide immediate humanitarian aid…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed the country’s readiness to provide medical aid for Libya in the wake of a massive flood that ripped through the North African nation. In a message to Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Tuesday, Raisi offered condolences to the Muslim nation on the devastating flood fatalities. Expressing sympathy with the Libyan government, nation and families of victims of the natural disaster, Raisi said Iran is prepared to provide relief aid to the Libyan people in the flood-hit areas and dispatch consignments of medical and pharmaceutical aids and other needed…

The US is exposing the rotten nature of its political system to the world, the Russian president has said The numerous criminal charges against former US President Donald Trump amount to persecution and showcase the “rot” in the American political system, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated. The US in its current state “cannot claim the right to teach others democracy,” the Russian leader said on Tuesday during a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “The things that are happening to Trump are persecution of a political competitor… That is what it is. And it is done in the full view…

Alexander Kozlov wrote on his Telegram channel that Russia and North Korea have been good friends for 75 years Russian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov has received North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Khasan station in the Primorye Region, the ministry said in a statement. “Chairman of the Russian-North Korean Intergovernmental Commission, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov received the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [Kim Jong Un] at the Khasan station in the Primorye Region,” the statement said. Kozlov wrote on his Telegram channel that Russia and North Korea have been…