Privatising Russia's future

Russia has been off investors’ radar for quite some time, despite a brief moment in the spotlight in January 2010, when aluminium company Rusal raised HK$17.4 billion $2.24 billion through its initial public offering in Hong Kong. But with accession to the WTO late last year after 18 years of talks and the decision to hold the Apec summit in Vladivostok this year, Russia is back on the map of investors.

The IMF projects that Russia will grow about 4% in 2012 and 2013, after the economy grew 4.3% last year and continued to accelerate during the first quarter of 2012. The growth has been helped by high oil...