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cm2prod.baylor.edu/welcome.icpcx ACM ICPC Contest DISTRIBUTED WITH THE DAILY TELEGRAPH TUESDAY_MAY 26_2009 Business
A positive view There are questions about what the future will hold, Opinion
but in general people believe the outlook is getting brighter
We are tops
Ratings agencies
don’t provide the
in computer
Investors upbeat,
full picture
programming
JULIA STONOGINA
IABC RUSSIA VICE-PRESI-
study reveals
DENT IN CHARGE OF INTER-
NATIONAL RELATIONS
We avoided a focus on broad statistics in
The International Association our study, and were therefore able to obtain
of Business Communicators unique insight into the wealth of foreign inves-
recently completed a major tors’ personal experiences in the Russian mar-
study of how Russia is viewed ket. Often, the usual doom and gloom predicted
by foreign media and big by ratings agencies was not as prevalent on the ALEXEY NIKOLSKY_RIA NOVOSTI
business. Contrary to individual level.
expectations, many foreign For example, Andrew Somers, president of the
investors remain bullish American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, saw At the 2009 International State University of Informa-
about the country’s low mortgage dependence as a crucial factor Collegiate Programming tion Technology, Mechanics
prospects during the in Russia’s further economic development in the Contest (ACM ICPC) at the and Optics scored highest in
economic crisis. context of the global economic crisis. While in Stockholm Royal Institute of the competition, receiving a
Europe and the United States we observe a near Technology, teams from gold medal and “world cham-
ARTEM ZAGORODNOV
total dependence of the working population on Russia took an astounding pion” status.
RUSSIA NOW home mortgages, in Russia this number does not three out of four total gold They were followed by a team
exceed 6pc. medals to be crowned world from Tsinghua University in
The group examined articles In fact, Jaguars and Lexuses were more often champions in this year’s China, which also received a
about Russia appearing in purchased on credit in Russia than homes. “battle of the brains”. gold medal.
various international publi- Therefore the standard conception that losing St Petersburg State Univer-
cations between January one’s job means losing one’s home does not
ANDREI ANNENKOV
sity and Saratov State Uni-
2006 and December 2008, hold true, and homeless Russians are not ex-
RIA NOVOSTI
versity – both from Russia –
and conducted more than 35 pected to appear en mass. In Somers’ opinion, were the only other teams to
in-depth interviews among this will allow the country’s population to recover Headquartered at Baylor get “golds”.
representatives of think and adapt to new circumstances more quickly. University in Waco, Texas, This is the third win for St
tanks, major businesses, fi - This statement reminded us of how, during the and dating back to 1970, the Petersburg State University
nancial groups and the press. 1998 Asian economic crisis, top ratings agen- ACM ICPC World Finals are of Information Technology,
Participants included the cies predicted utter disaster and a return of sponsored by IBM and held Mechanics and Optics over
Economist Intelligence Unit, Communism to Russia, while, on an individual each year in a different city the history of the ACM ICPC,
Coca-Cola and Business level, experts were more upbeat. There were around the world. which ties with California’s
Week (commentaries were many “optimists” who profited tremendously The contest challenges teams Stanford University for most
provided on a strictly anon- from buying Russian shares at knock-down pric- from 100 universities to de- victories overall.
ymous basis). es during the previous crisis, only to see them sign software that solves re- The competition was held on
The results following the double in value two years later. al-world problems. April 18-22 at the Grand
start of the global economic The problem with most pessimistic analyses is This year, 20 teams arrived Hotel of Sweden, the Radis-
crisis demonstrated that that they don’t take into account such intangible from the United States, 16 son Strand, and the Diplomat
many private investors were factors as a nation’s “ability to survive” or “opti- came from China, eight were Hotel in Stockholm.
-
not as pessimistic about Rus- mism”. Many of our highly educated and profes- from Russia and six from
sia’s prospects as the media. ALEXEY DRUZHININ_RIA NOVOSTI sionally successful respondents in top-man- Brazil. For full version go to
One respondent went as far On a recent visit to Japan, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin secured a bilateral civil nuclear energy agement positions used non-economic terms to Students from St Petersburg www.rbth.ru
as to say that “the crisis isn’t agreement for the next 25 years, as well as several energy deals aimed at attracting investment describe the current crisis in Russia. “Crises of
economic, but virtual. A lot of various kinds are a matter of habit for Russians,”
the middlemen have disap- commented Anna Kozlovskaya, public affairs
peared, and therefore it’s be- ture, high level of corrup- consensus that it would re- oil and gas and a huge con- and communications director at the Coca-Cola
come easier for our [foreign- tion… and strong dependen- main a raw materials ex- sumer market Export Corporation. “We clearly know that within
owned] company to work in cy on food and consumer im- porter to western Europe However, many respondents one or two years, at most, we’ll overcome it.”
Mobile phones…
Russia, as it has for many oth- ports.” until the latter diversified also mentioned that the path However, all of our respondents still agreed that
ers.” Perhaps most worrying for into alternative energies. For out of the crisis involved tap- 10 years of market economics have not been
There was also mention of advocates of Russia’s eco- Europe, investors stressed, ping Russia’s colossal poten- enough to build a satisfactory economic frame-
better than oil
Russia’s “potential” among nomic diversifi cation was a Russia is both a provider of tial, including entering the work. Personal relations therefore continue to
the respondents, some of World Trade Organisation, be a major factor in every business venture, and
whom believed that even the lowering administrative bar- should be valued by any foreigner in the early The 100 Most Valuable operator). Among mobile
country’s lack of a strong riers and taxes and modern- stages of developing a business in Russia. Until Global Brands now include service providers, the top po-
transportation infrastruc-
Fitch’s current credit ratings
ising the economy to focus on a more “Western” system of equal opportunity two Russian entrants, MTS sition was secured by China
ture was a plus that created a innovation. Foreigners saw becomes dominant in Russia – and this may and Beeline. Here, too, the Mobile, at $61.283bn, where-
massive opportunity for in-
for the Russian Federation
the greatest potential in the not happen for some time – many ventures will fierce competitors are as the Russian brands have
vestment. Other advantages information technology, tel- continue to depend on the “Eastern” model of running neck and neck, been rated 9th and 10th, re-
that Russia shared among the ecom, nanotechnology, agri- personal contacts. holding 71st and 72nd spectively.
so-called BRIC (Brazil, Rus-
Rating Rating Change
culture, military, infrastruc- And here a paradox arose in our study: we found positions respectively. Both Russian companies per-
sia, India and China) devel- Long Term Issuer Default BBB Downgrade ture and housing segments of that while many Westerners were disappointed form on a par with industry
oping economies included Short Term Issuer Default F3 Downgrade the economy. They also men- by the low level of personal culture among Rus-
MIKHAIL AVERCHENKO
leaders in terms of brand
natural and human resourc-
Local Currency Long Term Issuer Default BBB Downgrade
tioned the great potential of sian top-managers, they ended up making more ELENA VINOGRADOVA contribution to revenues and
es, geographic location and a
National Long Term AAA (RUS) New Rating
Russian regions, where in- friends in this country than in any other. Japanese
VEDOMOSTI
brand potential… ie, their
cultural closeness to Europe.
Country Ceiling BBB+ Downgrade
vestors enjoyed strong local investors, on the other hand, were embarrassed capacity to generate profi t in
One respondent commented, support, while emphasising that they could not reciprocate the “gorgeous” Google remains the most val- the short term, says Joanna
“each one of these four have that Moscow remained the after-hours hospitality offered by their Russian uable brand in the world as, Seddon, CEO of Millward
different features: I can’t say best place for a high return partners. in addition to increasing its Brown Optimor.
Russia or China, who is on investment. Both groups will be happy to hear that the crisis value by 16pc, it has become Reduced consumer spending
number one or two in differ-
What anticrisis measures
The biggest surprise of the is expected to greatly improve manners and the top global brand, valued on mobile services has only
ent factors. It depends on study was the large divide be- curb excessive spending. at $100,039bn (by Millward marginally affected the
what type of investors will go
would help your business?
tween the opinions of busi- Brown Optimor in its fourth brand value of the leading
in.” nessmen and investors and brand valuation report com- providers, because mobile
However, the study also those of the media and major pleted for the Financial services have evolved into a
showed that the same prob-
Measure %
international organisations. Times). necessity, says Elena Chuva-
lem long faced by investors in
A tax holiday or a delay in paying taxes 49
Professionals working in
Numbers
Russian entrants have be- khina, Head of Russian busi-
Russia remained: endemic
Monetary credits for SMEs 49
Russia remained considera- come stronger. The brand ness at Fitch Ratings. The
corruption (Russia was bly more optimistic about the value of MTS (Russia’s larg- MTS and Beeline high brand
placed 143rd in Transparen-
A "freezing" of communal tariffs 40
country and were more criti- $9bn was the volume of foreign direct in- est mobile phone operator), values refl ect their aggressive
cy International’s last study)
Easier access to state orders 30
cal of how Western – particu- vestment in the Russian economy during which first made it into the marketing policies, involving
and a “tardiness” in imple-
Less administrative pressure 24
larly British – media por- the first quarter of 2009, reported Economic MBO rankings in 2008 in the advertising costs of $111m
menting market reforms and Lower rates for renting federal or municipal property 21 trayed the situation. They Development Minister Elvira Naibulina. This 89th spot, grew by 14pc to and $122m in 2008, accord-
opening up to foreign mar-
Subsidizing expenses associated with creating new jobs 14
none the less emphasised figure showed considerable growth. $9.189bn. For the fi rst time, ing to Aegis Media. Inter-
kets. One investor remarked: that, during Russia’s current MTS has been joined in this brand consultancy has pro-
Timely payment for work completed on state orders 8
“Among the BRIC emerging economic crisis, the gap be- $5,58bn was reported during the first year’s ranking by Beeline, the claimed Beeline the most val-
markets, Russia is last be- THIS POLL WAS CONDUCTED BY OPORA ROSSII AMONG SME OWNERS tween “image” and “reality” quarter of last year, which saw a 42.8pc de- $8.884bn-brand of Vym- uable Russian brand for four
cause of its poor infrastruc- was getting smaller.
-
crease from the same period of 2007. pelkom (also a mobile phone years in a row.
-
hensive report on aspects of international and domestic international organisations, financial institutions, ExpoChemistry 2009; and Agrochemistry, Agrobiotechnol-
Global Russia
policy. He will also meet with CEOs from the world’s lead- agricultural producer alliances, market participants and ogy.
ing corporations. The forum will be divided into two parts: experts will be in attendance. Key topics will include corrosion protection, the chemical
economic and financial. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin will www.grain-forum.com industry, industrial ecology and safety, equipment, and
business
deliver a report as part of the financial part and First Deputy fixtures and fittings.
Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will hold discussions on anti- Russian Jobs in the EU Week www.stratum.ru
crisis management with heads of Russian and foreign cor- June 6-7, Cass Business School, London
calendar
porations. June 9-10, Saalbau Titus-Forum, Frankfurt am Main International Maritime Defence Show
More than 2,000 people are expected to attend. This aims to attract young skilled Russian citizens living in (IMDS 2009)
www.forumspb.com/eng European countries to offer them employment opportuni- June 24-29, Lenexpo Fairgrounds, St Petersburg
ties with Russian companies. Employers will also consider The aims of IMDS 2009 is to provide a common platform
World Grain Forum Russian applicants with passports issued by EU states, and for the marine industry to interact with significant
June 6-7, Lenexpo, St Petersburg foreign citizens aged 18-35 living abroad and working in customers and key decision-makers.
The forum’s programme includes discussions on the the area of science and innovation. Exhibit areas include services for freight companies,
St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2009 current condition and prospects for grain production, The forum is organised by the Federal Agency for Youth Af- transport terminals, services for transportation, stores and
June 4-6, Lenexpo, St Petersburg consumption and global trade amid the global crisis, fairs of Russia. warehousing services, forwarding and freight services,
The St Petersburg Forum will bring together world lead- ways of financing the development of grain production www.adamsmithconferences.com customs services, research and development in logistics
ers to discuss key economic issues facing Russia and and the grain market, creating new mechanisms for and transportation, etc.
the international community. Russian President Dmitry providing uninhibited access to grain, and creating a global 11th Chemical Forum 2009 www.navalshow.ru/eng
Medvedev will address participants on June 5, opening the stabilisation grain fund, as well as ways in which Russia, June 16-18, Lenexpo, St Petersburg
first plenary session, entitled “Global Economic Crisis: the Ukraine and Kazakhstan can contribute to ensuring global Several specialised exhibitions will take place as part
Find more in the “Global Calendar”
First Lessons and a View of the Future”. food security. of the forum: Corrosion Protection 2009; Varnishes,
The Russian leader is expected to deliver a compre- Agriculture ministers from 65 countries, heads of Paints, and Finishes 2009; ExpoLab 2009; NanEx 2009;
at www.rbth.ru
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