Putin Wants Oil Revenue for Stock Market

Here’s an unpleasant headline:

Putin wants oil revenue to go into Russian stock market
President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian government Monday to bolster the country’s flagging equity market by pumping surplus oil revenue into stocks.
The government should consider buying Russian blue chips with excess oil revenue instead of foreign securities, Putin said at a cabinet meeting in Moscow that was broadcast on NTV television.
Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Alfa Bank in Moscow, said, “You would expect to see that money going into companies like Rosneft, Gazprom and VTB Group rather than the broader market.” Weafer added, “The danger is trying to achieve a valuation target, which would only be a short-term fix.”

It could be worse. The last time Russia had surging revenue from the high price of oil, the country put it to work. In Afghanistan.

Posted by on May 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 am


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