War of words: Russian PM vs. Russian tycoon
Published: 03 March, 2010, 21:09
Edited: 06 March, 2010, 17:23
TAGS: Investment, Conflict, Putin, Russia, Prime Time Russia, Finance
A very public tete-a-tete is developing between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and celebrity tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, after the PM delivered one of his robust denunciations of energy sector investment strategy.
A few days ago, Putin attacked energy companies in Russia for not properly using shares which were allowed to be sold by the government on the condition that a lot of that money would be put into structure investment that is into building bigger and better power stations Russia really needs.
“These companies made a commitment to invest in energy capacity 450 billion rubles, which was basically state money. However, they invested only 270 billion rubles, while 60 billion was spent on non-core activities. The rest of money is still kept unused on the companies’ accounts,” Putin said.
Putin added that fines and prosecutions may well follow if these energy companies do not put in the structure investments in the future.
In return, Prokhorov, a billionaire and major shareholder of TGK-4 energy company, said that Putin does not really know what he is talking about as he does not have all the information. In fact, investments were not made because the crisis resulted in falling demand for electricity.
However, when Putin argued that they have all the information they need, Prokhorov has changed his story.
“We constructively cooperate with the Energy Ministry,” Prokhorov said. “We indeed postponed building of several elements for solely technical reasons. Due to the crisis, one of our constructors did not fulfill his duties.”
It is not the first time Putin has voiced his frustration with big names in the world of business. Last April, he made Russia‘s former richest man, Oleg Deripaska, pay wages to sacked employees of the closed Pikalevo Alumina Refinery, and in June 2009, Putin sharply criticized one of Moscow’s biggest retail chains for its steep prices.
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You'll get used to creativity as time rolls on. After all, great risks and sacrifice are both part of the game of their genius. It takes two to tango, they'll say, so you have to set up lots of traps or they'll get to your first. Kill or be killed or trapped - by your own will and desire of course. In America, most are independent in ratio to themselves via method of raising, which means self-driven and motivated no clear lines of authority or anything, so you really have to watch your back because all are for one of any value against one without anysort of protection or sane thought-process, but you can't say that, lest you be insane. And anyone can transform into anything at anytime for another because most are on lines of semi-desperation due to isolation of various sorts and basic insecurities and limited understandings of emotions. You have to learn to know things and not give in to the gibberish. We've had a few decades of this. I'm sure you'll learn to enjoy it as well. Right now, you still care, but you'll eventually give in when you have to or forget why you care.
Yes, that is right Babeouf. I agree with you. You cannot argue with Crawn in Canada for a simple reason that Crawn represent interest of Canadians and its country Canada. Very often, it is basic human ritht to defend common interest against numerous private-pablic finacail monsters.












Babeouf I totally agree, but the policy you outline is great for a temporary measure. the much more self sufficient and generally efficient method to police these procedures would be to bring effective competition into the market. In fact the THREAT of effective competition is IN IT SELF a very good motivator. that in its self is the most effective policy; it is the administrators job to use all the leavers that is in its power to effectively create competition, whether that includes creating founding companies in the interim or just directing incentive based funding to the right people, if in the end the 'entity' whatever it may be , Food , Natural resources, etc. is exploited by more competitors everyone wins. except big companies that are used to always winning. The benefits are obvious, more employment, better wages and more liquid monetary market, which in turn runs on to the service side of the economy.