Russia could find its coffers empty next year and needs investment from friendly countries to break the hold of sanctions on the economy, billionaire Oleg Deripaska said on Thursday.
“There will be no money already next year,” he said at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Siberia.
“We will need foreign investors."
Mr Deripaska, founder of United Co Rusal International, the biggest aluminum producer outside China, said funds were running low and “that’s why they’ve already begun to shake us down".
They were among the most outspoken comments by a prominent business leader as the government looks to make large companies pay after ending last year with a record fiscal deficit and the budget still deep in the red for the start of 2023.
Authorities are already planning to raise more budget revenue with proposed changes to how they tax oil companies, and they may wrest more money from other commodity producers by means of a one-time levy.
While Russia had a surprise boom in capital spending last year, the outlook has turned more grim, especially as huge military spending strains public finances.
One year of the Russia-Ukraine war - in pictures
But even with sanctions and other restrictions squeezing revenues from energy exports, the economy may grow slightly this year, the International Monetary Fund said.
Mr Deripaska, on whom the US imposed sanctions in 2018, was also placed under European penalties after Russia attacked Ukraine a year ago.
He called for peace in the weeks after the invasion but has taken a more cautious line on the war in recent months.
Mr Deripaska said building “state capitalism is not an option” and warned of “serious” pressure from sanctions.
“Russia should keep developing the market economy,” he said.
“A foreign investor will look at how a Russian investor makes money, what conditions exist.”
Russia and Ukraine conflict latest - in pictures
Countries with “serious resources” could become partners for Russia, Mr Deripaska said.
The government needs to make sure Russia is attractive for such investors by ensuring a safe business climate with more economic freedoms and competition, he said.
Even with many of the world’s biggest economies against Russia, it still has access to markets, with a population of 4.5 billion and accounting for $30 trillion of global gross domestic product, he said.
“We thought we were a European country,” Mr Deripaska said. “Now, for the next 25 years, we will think more about our Asian past.”
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
