Latest articles from Central & eastern Europe

Room for visitors

September 4, 2006

Construction of theatres, hotels and office blocks are planned or under way in the city centre, as industry is moved in favour of tourism and services.

Pushing the boat out

September 4, 2006

Foreign corporations are already moving into St Petersburg but the city is trying to make itself even more attractive through investor-friendly tax policies, simpler bureaucracy and better infrastructure. Jules Stewart reports.

Foreign banks in shopping spree

September 4, 2006

Being Europe’s fourth-largest city by population, St Petersburg is highly attractive to foreign banks, which are snapping up local players, and bringing in huge amounts of capital to offer in loans to corporates and consumers. By Jules Stewart.

Making the grade

September 4, 2006

Yury Molchanov, deputy governor of St Petersburg, explains what the city is doing to attract investors.

St Petersburg aims high

September 4, 2006

Russia’s most European city is attracting more investment, through its trade links, port facilities and range of successful industries, writes Jules Stewart.

Billionaires, their politics and their big business empires

September 4, 2006

Captains of industry or oligarchs? Many of Ukraine’s billionaires rub shoulders with politicians and some even taken up office themselves. Ben Aris reports on how the political tides are buffeting the country’s richest men and how they made their fortunes.

UniCredit’s CEE realignment

September 4, 2006

Hard on the heels of the UniCredit announcement of a second quarter net profit increase of 82.5% year-on-year has come its announcement of a realignment of its central and eastern European (CEE) holdings, in part to facilitate its accommodation with the forces of Polish nationalism.

Policy consensus is vital for steady development

August 7, 2006

Last month’s elections bring hopes for the creation of a consensual government that will further Macedonia’s economic development and lead the country to EU accession. Meanwhile, banks report good health. Tom Blass reports.

Hungary’s OTP buys banks in Balkans, Russia and Ukraine

August 7, 2006

OTP Bank (aka the National Savings and Commercial Bank), Hungary’s leading bank and the only locally owned central European bank with a regional strategy, continues to look eastwards for expansion with a flurry of takeover activity.

Rusal stays with debt issue

August 7, 2006

Although there is talk of Rusal floating, its finance chief Vladislav Soloviev tells Edward Russell-Walling the aluminium giant does not need to tap the capital markets just yet.

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