https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russias- ... 06973.htmlOne of a handful of Russian firms entering markets beyond their core business, Sberbank has been developing its non-financial businesses, such as e-commerce, technology and cloud services, in an attempt to combat banks' shrinking margins.
In changes that will take effect on June 1, Lev Khasis, first deputy chairman of the management board, will leave his role and become president of the new e-commerce holding company.
"One of the key goals of Sber's strategy is to achieve leadership in the e-commerce industry in Russia. This is a very ambitious challenge," Khasis said in a statement.
Sberbank CEO German Gref told reporters all of the company's e-commerce assets would be assembled in the holding company and that its brand was being finalised.
The holding company will combine Sberbank's investments in SberMarket, SberMegaMarket, SberLogistics, pharmacy line SBER EAPTEKA, and SMM Retail, as well as in O2O Holding, the bank's joint venture with technology firm VK.
"All Sber partners in companies set to join the holding will receive an offer to exchange their shares for shares in the holding at fair market value," Sberbank said.
Sberbank will also establish two separate "ecosystems", one focused on business clients, the other on individuals.
Russia has a very low debt load. In theory, they could cause more damage by unleashing the Nuclear Option. Which would be to curtail gas, oil and other essential supplies to the West, thereby forcing most of the EU to back away from imposing tough sanctions for too long. They have enough reserves to hold out while many nations in the west with their high debt loads are left scrambling for a way out.
Say what you want about VLAD but the dude plans everything in advance and he learnt a lot from the Georgian war. Their coffers are flowing with the high gas prices, in fact, some estimate that the high gas prices have already paid for all their investment in Nord Stream 2. The first country in Europe to feel massive Pain will be Germany. So watch how Germany reacts for all their bluster they need Russian gas.
Locking them out of SWIFT will be suicide for the West, it will push China and Russia closer. Russia will also demand payments in roubles or Gold eventually. Don't forget Russians are used to dealing with Pain, unlike their western counterparts. The rapid reaction from Sberbank is just a taste of things to come. For risk-takers, this bank makes for a good long term investment if you have a long term horizon. I will add more later when time permits but the long term pendulum may finally be swinging in Russia's direction. Russians are at their best when their backs are to the Wall.
Other interesting information
https://www.worldstopexports.com/russia ... 0-exports/The latest available country-specific data shows that 63.4% of products exported from Russia were bought by importers in: China (14.6% of the global total), Netherlands (7.4%), United Kingdom (6.9%), Germany (5.5%), Belarus (4.8%), Turkey (4.6%), Kazakhstan (4.2%), South Korea (3.7%), United States (3.3%), Italy (3%), Poland (2.8%) and Japan (2.7%).
From a continental perspective, 49.3% of Russia’s exports by value were delivered to fellow European countries while 42.2% were sold to importers in Asia. Russia shipped another 3.7% worth of goods to North America. Smaller percentages went to Africa (3.5%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (1%) then Oceania led by New Zealand and Australia (0.1%).
Given Russia’s population of 146.8 million people, its total $335.5 billion in 2020 exports translates to roughly $2,300 for every resident in the vast Eurasian country.
Mineral fuels including oil: US$141.3 billion (42.1% of total exports)
Gems, precious metals: $30.4 billion (9%)
Iron, steel: $16 billion (4.8%)
Cereals: $9.5 billion (2.8%)
Machinery including computers: $8.3 billion (2.5%)
Wood: $8.2 billion (2.5%)
Fertilizers: $7 billion (2.1%)
Copper: $5.6 billion (1.7%)
Aluminum: $5.5 billion (1.6%)
Fish: $4.6 billion (1.4%)
Once again we have to state that Vlad does not move without a long term backup plan. Given that EU gets over 45% of its gas from Russia it would be impossible for it to find a way to get the gas it needs from other nations. And this alone would push gas prices another 300 to 600% higher for Europe which would criple its industry. We are now at a very critical inflexion point. It remains to be seen what backup plans Russia has come up with. One of them definitely involves China. Remember the Chinese think well into the future, 20 to 30 years is not a big deal for them and in that time the landscape will change significantly.
Watch how the Ukraine scenario unfolds for its going to have long term implications. We feel really sorry for the pain the Ukrainians have to go through, but something big is happening and our GP index just surged to an all-time new high, which indicates that something nobody has envisioned is about to come into play.
One very important note is that we at TI abhor war for the meek always pay the most. Hopefully, some sane solution is found and found fast otherwise the number of innocent lives lost is going to skyrocket. The EU and the US should have stood by Ukraine, instead, they made it look like they would and then fled into the night leaving a weak Ukraine to defend against an army that they have no chance of overpowering.
