Russia opens up for yachting

Russia opens up for yachting

Russia aims at drawing more sailing tourists and opens up Russian waters for sailing boats and yachts under foreign flag.

Russia has a well-developed network of canals and a myriad of navigable rivers, but so far few foreigners have explored the possibilities the country has to offer sailing tourists.

It normally takes about three months to get a permit to sail in Russian waters with a yacht or sailing boat under foreign flag. One has to apply to the Ministry of Transport and get approvals from nearly ten other organs like the Foreign Ministry, FSB and Ministry of Defense, Russian Business Consulting writes.

The Russian National Sailing Federation (VFPS), Ministry of Transport and the State Duma’s Committee for Transport all agree that the rules must change if Russia is to become more attractive for sailing tourists.

A draft bill on changes to the Law on Transport on Internal Waters is now being discussed by the Russian Government. The involved parties hope that the bill will be carried within the end of the State Duma’s spring session.

- A solution of this problem would give a boost to tourism both in coastal towns as well as in the inland. It will create new jobs and help develop the regions, says Head of the VFPS and Governor of Tver Oblast Dmitry Zelenin. He adds that the application procedure should take no more than a week.

The new law will concern boats under foreign flag with maximum 18 persons on board.

Text: Trude Pettersen

Opening of Africa-Israel's Moscow mall delayed

AFI Development and Africa-Israel's share prices are falling sharply.

AFI Development plc (LSE:AFID) today confirmed yesterday's report in "Globes" which quoted an industry analyst saying that Africa-Israel Investments Ltd.'s (TASE:AFIL) AFIMall City in Moscow is far from being completed and is not ready to open. The report resulted in the share price of the company's Russian development arm, which owns the mall, to fall 5.7% in heavy trading.

Before yesterday, the latest target opening date given by Africa Israel was January. Today, AFI Development confirmed that there will be a soft opening in early March and a grand opening in May.

On January 24, AFI Development announced that it had received a certificate of completion for the AFIMall City from the Moscow Municipality. Today, however, the company announced, "Further to the announcement of January 24, 2011 and in accordance with the planned development schedule, the final works requested by the municipal authorities regarding safety and fire hazards are being carried out in order to receive authorization to proceed with a 'soft opening' of the mall to the general public." The company now expects the mall to open in early March.

AFI Development added, "During this process, fit-out works for the retail units are proceeding on schedule so that 160 stores will be open during the course of March." 74% of the sales area has been leased, and it expects to lease 80% within three months of the soft opening.

In response to reports about a bitter dispute between Africa-Israel chairman Lev Leviev and Moscow municipal officials over the municipality's plan to sell its stake in the AFIMall at a value of $500 million, AFI Development said, "In accordance with the decree issued by the Moscow City Government in 2010, the company is in the final stages of negotiation with the municipal authorities to purchase the city's 25% share in the development together with the partially completed parking area for 2,700 cars." The company said that it was renting parking spaces from adjacent buildings.

AFI Development's share price opened at $1.33 in London today, giving a market cap of ₤725 million. Africa-Israel's share price fell a further 4.8% in early trading today to NIS 27.80, giving a market cap of NIS 3 billion.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2011

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

Russia Likely to Raise Export Duty 5.3% After Urals Crude Gain

By Stephen Bierman

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Russia may raise its export duty on most crude shipments by 5.3 percent on March 1 after Urals prices climbed.

The standard tax rate will probably rise to $365 a metric ton ($49.80 a barrel) from $346.60 a ton in February, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Finance Ministry data. The discounted rate on oil pumped via Russia’s East Siberian-Pacific Ocean pipeline to Asia and from the Caspian Sea may climb to $150.40 a ton from $137.60.

Russia sets the duty based on the average Urals price from the 15th day of one month to the 14th day of the next. Urals, Russia’s benchmark export blend, averaged $95.79 during the most recent monitoring period, Alexander Sakovich, a Finance Ministry adviser, said by phone today.

The export tax on light oil products may be increased to $244.60 a ton from $232.20 a ton. The duty on heavy products may rise to $170.40 a ton from $161.80 a ton.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin must sign off on the duties for them to come into effect.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Bierman in Moscow sbierman1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 15, 2011 04:00 EST

Russia March oil export duty to rise to $365/T

* Crude export duty to rise to $365 per tonne from $346.6

* East Siberian export duty to rise 9 pct to $150.4 per t

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Russia's oil export duty in March will rise 5.3 percent to $365 a tonne, a new two-year high, as oil prices continue to rally, according to Finance Ministry figures and Reuters calculations.

The crude oil duty -- a major factor in the financial results of Russia's oil companies -- stands at $346.6 per tonne in February.

The final oil export duty for March is based on the seaborne Urals URL-E price from Jan 15 to Feb. 14 inclusive.

Finance Ministry official, Alexander Sakovich, told Reuters on Tuesday the average price for that period was $95.79 per barrel, up from $91.9 in the previous timeframe. Urals is now trading above $100 per barrel.

Reuters calculations, based on customs tariff regulations and the average oil price estimate, show the March export duty is therefore likely to be set at $365.08 per tonne.

The rate is officially announced by the government at the end of each month. The March duty was slightly above the $363-$364 range forecast on Feb. 10, four days before the end of the monitoring period. [ID:nLDE7190SK]

The export duty on crude from new fields in East Siberia and the Caspian Sea, which enjoy a lower rate than Russian crude from other production areas, will rise to $150.4 tonne, up from $137.6 in February.

The duty on light refined fuels, such as gasoline, is to rise to $244.6 per tonne compared to $232.2 per tonne in February. The duty on heavy fuels will rise to $170.4 per tonne, up from $161.8 per tonne this month.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jessica Bachman)

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14235

VTB Capital

News: According to Interfax, the Kovykta field is to be sold via auction on 1 March. The deadline for submitting applications is 24 February, with an advance to be paid of USD 100mn. The starting price of the licence is USD 500mn.

Our View: Were the field to be sold at the starting price, that would imply EV/Reserves of USD 0.04/boe, which is seventeen times lower than the price which Novatek recently paid for SeverEnergia and way below the multiples at which Novatek and Gazprom are traded. A year ago, TNK-BP valued Kovykta at USD 700-900mn, which we believe might be an indicator for the final price of the deal. We believe that the initial price is very low compared with the valuation of Russian oil and gas companies. Thus, acquiring Kovykta would be value-accretive for any company. In our view, the three main candidates are Gazprom, Novatek and Rosneft.