What is the Future of the Russian Economy?
Panelists:
Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO, Viking River Cruises, Inc.
Roland Nash, Head of Research, Renaissance Capital
Richard Sobel, CEO, Alfa Capital Partners, Ltd.
Vladimir Tyurenkov, Managing Director, Eastern Europe and Russia, Hansberger Global Investors

Moderator:
Elena Barmakova, Founder and President, Fontvieille Capital Inc.

Can you still make your fortune in Russia? Torstein Hagen did, he went from losing everything to rebuilding his fortune with a cruise line (and a healthy investment in the Russian stock market). Richard Sobel describes Russia as being essentially a 15-year-old country, in the throes of its teen years. They are having a huge retail boom with the rise of a spend-happy middle class. Russia's resources include oil, natural gas, huge land mass and an educated work force. Russia's problems include the social infrastructure, fast growth of AIDS and TB and a corrupt bureaucracy.  There  are currently 88,000 millionaires in Russia.

The big story in Russia is still oil. Most of the stock market (60.58%) is in oil and gas but in Russia's economy only 21.5% is oil and gas. The opportunities for Russian real estate are rich but it is a hard market for outsiders to get into. There is a rising corporate debt market and a huge increase in Russian mutual funds. The number of Russian IPOs is also on the rise. And the debut of Rosneft could be the biggest IPO in history.

What is the future of the economy for Russia?

Torstein Hagen thinks "we've probably seen the best of it" but that there is still room for opportunity.
Richard Sobel is "generally optimistic" but says that there are both extreme successes and extreme crises.
Vladimar Tyurenkov says that "15 companies represent 80% of the stock market." He sees the future in a transfer from oil to a knowledge-based economy.
Roland Nash points out that the Russian stock market has risen $500 billion in 12 months. The challenge is  the spread of the state but the rise of the middle class and increased spending should drive Russian prosperity.