VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
In 2010, the Russian-Danish trade turnover totaled $3.298 billion (up 4.1% as compared with 2009), which included Russian exports of $1.564 billion (down 12.9%), and imports of $1.734 billion (up 26.3%).
Bilateral trade expanded by 34.6% to $383 million during January-February 2010 as compared with the same period in 2009. Russia's exports grew by 12.3% to $152.3 million, while imports were up 54.8% at $230.7 million.
Main exports from Russia include petroleum, petroleum products and coal, ferrous metals, timber and timber products, fish and seafood, and chemical products. Danish supplies to Russia are dominated by machinery and equipment, foods and raw materials for food production, furniture, footwear and medicines.
The supply of mineral fuels, petroleum and petroleum refinery products decreased from 67.8% to 51.1% in 2010 as compared with 2009, whereas the supply of non-ferrous metals increased from 25.3% to 41.9%.
Denmark was the first country to authorize construction of the Nord Stream in its economic area of the Baltic Sea, on October 20, 2009.
About 2 billion cubic metres of gas worth nearly $1 billion will be supplied to Denmark in 2011.
Russian-Danish investment cooperation is characterized by a growing interest in business circles in both countries, to the mutual placement of capital in the form of direct and portfolio investments.
A 2002 deal involving the establishment of Denmark's largest steel company Dansteel A/S on the basis of the bankrupt Novolipetsk steel plant was the most substantial event in recent investment history. The new facility manufactures rolled steel from semi-finished Russian products.
Between 2006-2008, Agromashholding gradually conducted a 100% acquisition of the Danish company Silvatec Skovmaskiner A/S, which manufactures timber harvesters. The Onega tractor plant, with the assistance of this company, launched production of modern logging equipment.
In April 2010, the Russian NaukTekhStroy Plus acquired a 53.3% stake in Affitek for 170 million Danish krones, or $31 million, which allowed the firm to continue working on the development of two cancer-fighting drugs to be used in Russia and CIS countries.
Most of Danish private investments in Russia are made in the real economy and involve advanced technologies, new products for the Russian market, the establishment of highly efficient production facilities and the creation of new jobs. The total volume of accumulated Danish investment in new production facilities in Russia since 1991 exceeds $2 billion. The amount of Danish portfolio investments in Russian securities and equities has reached $700 million. In addition, approximately $250 million went into administrative and technical assistance projects (over 1,310 "sectoral" projects) in the areas of environmental protection, energy conservation, education and welfare, which were implemented with the participation of the Danish government.
Over 200 Danish companies have representative offices and branches in Russia, of which about 20% have established their own production facilities in Russia. According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, Denmark invested $122.4 million, including $72.3 million in direct investments and $50.1 million dollars in other investments, in Russia during the first nine months of 2010. As of the end of the third quarter of 2010, the cumulative investment amounted to $814.3 million, including $618.3 million in direct investments, 44.0 million in portfolio investments, and $152 million in other investments.
In particular, Carlsberg A/S has controlled 88.6% of the Baltika brewery since 2008, which propelled Carlsberg’s share of the Russian beer market to 40%; 60% of the company’s revenue comes from Russia.
Since 1999, Rockwool A/S, a manufacturer of insulation materials, has acquired and upgraded three companies in Russia, with over $40 million invested in an enterprise based in the town of Zheleznodorozhny, Moscow Region; $65 million in a plant employing about 150 people in Vyborg, Leningrad Region; and $50 million in an enterprise located in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Region, with 270 employees; the fourth enterprise -- Rockwool Volga -- is under construction at the Alabuga experimental plant in Yelabuga, Tatarstan. This plant will become the world’s largest manufacturer of heat insulation, with an output of 100,000 tonnes per year as of the time of commissioning, which will later double. The project is estimated to cost $178 million. The commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2012, and the enterprise will employ 140 workers and employees.
The Russian enterprise of Grundfos A/S pump manufacturer located in the Istra District, Moscow Region, doubled its output since it first opened in 2005. An investment program to expand the production and marketing network worth 250 million krones, or $49 million, is underway.
Danfoss A/S has four heat equipment (radiator thermostats, ball valves, etc.) manufacturing plants in Russia. The company has over 50 million euros invested in Russian enterprises. Currently, the construction of a plant in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Region, is in progress. Its commissioning is scheduled for the third quarter of 2012, and its investments will amount to about $17.5 million.
Ball valves for heating, cooling and air conditioning systems, as well as for the distribution of light petroleum products, mineral oil and natural gas, have also been manufactured in Russia by Broen since 2003.
The H&H International A/S plant, which manufactures aerated concrete with a capacity of 400,000 cubic metres per year, was commissioned in the village of Kikerino, Volosovsky District, Leningrad Region, in June 2009. Its total investment amounts to 220 million krones, or about $40 million. The company is considering similar projects in the Kaluga Region, the Urals and Siberia.
VELUX A/S opened a roof window plant in Rostov Veliky, Yaroslavl Region, in 2009. These windows are very popular with Russian customers. Their total investment amounts to about $50 million.
APM Terminals A/S, which is part of AP Moller-Maersk A/S, is considering investing in the construction of a new port in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad Region. The port will become a transportation hub in the Baltic Sea region capable of shipping 6 million 20-foot sea containers per year. The total construction cost is estimated at 18 billion krones, or $3.5 billion.
In October 2009, Skamol A/S, in conjunction with the Eastern European Investment Fund countries, invested 90 million euros, or $17.3 million, to purchase a controlling stake in Diatom Mill, LLC. The funds will be used to develop production of refractory bricks (diatomaceous earth) at a plant located in the town of Inza, Ulyanovsk Region.
As of early 2010, the Baltic Property Trust Asset Management A/S and BPT Arista S.A. SIKAV-SIF investment funds put over 1 billion euros, or over $180 million, towards the acquisition of commercial real estate in Russia. Almost all major Danish investment funds, including Nordea Invest Osteuropa, Danske Invest Osteuropa, Carnegie Osteuropa, and Jyske Invest, invested in stocks of Russian enterprises. The Danish are particularly interested in energy, mining and telecommunications companies, and food producers.
Cooperation in the area of energy efficiency and conservation has a promising outlook. Moscow authorities are working together with Danfoss A/S on a programme to secure a transition to automated heat consumption metering, and control in all residential houses and apartments. Since 2002, the company has re-equipped over 20 new and existing apartment buildings across Russia. The economic benefit amounted to 22%-45% of total investments during the first year.
Contact between the Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH) and its Russian partners became more active in 2009-2010. The Russian-Danish Centre for Energy Conservation based in Voronezh is participating in the implementation of a project to renovate heat supply systems and replace equipment at 600 thermal power plants. $13 million worth of contracts covering 68 such plants have already been signed. DBDH has plans to develop cooperation with other Russian regions, such as Mari El, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, and the Volgograd, Penza, Rostov, and Ulyanovsk regions, and Sochi.
The Russian E4 Group together with Danfoss, Kovi and Løgstør plans to upgrade the energy supply systems in the Republic of Tatarstan, the Saratov and Murmansk regions in order to improve their energy efficiency.
VELUX A/S is looking into the possibility of building solar-powered Green Lighthouses in the Skolkovo innovation center.
The collaboration between Siemens Wind Power and Vestas regarding the use of wind power and other renewable energy sources, including bioenergy, is developing.
The bilateral Russian-Danish Intergovernmental Council on Economic Cooperation, chaired from the Russian side by Igor Levitin, is functional. The Council held its ninth session in Copenhagen on March 14 and 15, 2011.
A meeting of constituents of the Russian-Danish Business Forum, which was designed to establish direct contact between entrepreneurs and provide prompt solutions to problems facing businesses, was held on April 28, 2010. The Russian side of the forum was led by Chairman of the Board of Directors of NLMK, Vladimir Lisin; the Danish side was headed by Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, CEO of Carlsberg.
