Flags with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) logo fly near St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 14, 2022. REUTERS / Maxim Shemetov
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- International Economic Forum June 15-18 in St. Petersburg
- There are no big Western bosses in ‘Russian Davos’ because of the sanctions
- Putin will not meet with top Western executives for the first time in years
June 14 (Reuters) – Russia has hosted world leaders and business titans for years at its annual economic forum in St Petersburg, but Russian “Davos” will see little of the world’s financial elite this time with Moscow isolated by sanctions over its sanctions. actions in Ukraine.
This week, to make up for the lack of attendees who personify the economic power and dust of Western stars, Russia is giving a spotlight to smaller players or countries like China, the world’s second largest economy, which they have not joined the sanctions.
“Foreign investors are not just from the United States and the European Union,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, pointing to the Middle East and Asia.
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“These investors and entrepreneurs are interested and will be actively involved in the forum.”
The Kremlin launched the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 1997 to attract foreign investment, discuss economic policy, and project an image that was open to business after the demise of Soviet communist rule.
Russia has long compared SPIEF to the World Economic Forum, the annual blue ribbon event for global VIPs held at the Swiss alpine resort of Davos to discuss the world’s problems.
Now, with Western leaders shunning deals with Russia, longtime President Vladimir Putin will not have a traditional meeting with political and large corporate proponents in the United States and Europe.
There were no names of US and European companies or their CEOs in the calendar published for the SPIEF from June 15 to 18, which reflects fears of punishment under the broader sanctions regime that has been imposed. never to a major power.
Even companies that have remained in Russia despite the general exodus of Western investors were not on the list.
With one exception to the absence of Western figures, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Russia along with his French and Italian counterparts will speak Thursday in a session called “Western Investors in Russia: New Reality.”
TOXIC RELATIONS
Russia’s relations with the West have become toxic since it sent armored forces to Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special military operation” to eliminate threats to its security. Ukraine and its Western supporters call Russia’s actions an unprovoked invasion aimed at seizing territory.
Therefore, SPIEF will look and feel very different this year.
After once unfurling the red carpet for people like then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former IMF director Christine Lagarde, Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein, Citi’s Vikram Pandit and ExxonMobil’s Rex Tillerson, Russia will give the highest bill this week to the presidents of allied states Kazakhstan and Armenia.
As foreign companies write down billions of their promising Russian investments, domestic companies and banks are rushing to take over the businesses that have been left behind. Read more
“Sanctions are long-term. Globalization as it was before is over,” Andrey Kostin, general manager of the sanctioned bank VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, told RBC. “The world will probably be divided strictly between ‘us’ and ‘them’ once again.”
“NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN A NEW WORLD”
In recent years, SPIEF sessions have focused on investment-oriented issues, such as privatization by Moscow, initial public offerings (IPOs), and education abroad for Russians.
This year, SPIEF’s official title is “New Opportunities in a New World.” Topics of the session include new possibilities for Russian economic growth, improved trade with the five non-Western BRICS powers and the future of Russia’s sanctioned financial sector.
Another session – “A new form of international cooperation: how will payments be made?” – talks about the expulsion of Russia from the global payment system SWIFT and its decision to circumvent the ban by requiring payments for gas exports in rubles. He will have speakers from Russia’s allies Cuba and Venezuela, as well as from Turkey and Egypt, who have also shunned sanctions.
There will even be a session on “fake news”: a panel attended by state media, the Attorney General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry as Moscow pursues an information war with the West to shape the perception of events in Ukraine.
“Everything has changed in the last half year, from business management schemes and investment priorities to the needs of the people and the problems that need to be solved,” said the summary of a SPIEF session.
Other countries that send officials to attend or speak via a video link include China, Belarus, the Central African Republic, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to Russian state television, business figures from nearly 130 countries will take part despite the sanctions.
Some forum attendees asked that the names of their employers not be printed on their personal badges, RBC reported, citing Rosgoncress, the state-run company that organizes the forum.
“Money loves silence now like never before,” said Denis Denisov, head of the Russian branch of the international consulting firm EM.
“People don’t want to talk about their business under the focus of SPIEF or the anti-crisis measures they are taking because they fear personal sanctions … and the risk of direct and secondary sanctions against their businesses.”
($ 1 = $ 57.4500)
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Reuters report Edited by Mark Heinrich
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