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Western markets fear arrival of major Russian companies - experts

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Western markets fear the arrival of major Russian companies either because they are not prepared or because Russia has a negative image abroad, participants at a Moscow business conference said Tuesday.
MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti) - Western markets fear the arrival of major Russian companies either because they are not prepared or because Russia has a negative image abroad, participants at a Moscow business conference said Tuesday.

Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for the Russian energy giant Gazprom, said the company often faces obstacles when trying to gain access to foreign markets, adding that two reasons basically explain the situation, one subjective and the other objective.

"The subjective reason is that the image of Gazprom and Russia is pretty negative [abroad]," Kupriyanov said. "The objective reason is that when such possibilities arise, when a new and powerful major player supported by ample resources appears and begins to relate differently to local companies of long standing, when a company like Gazprom suddenly appears out of nowhere and begins speaking of global ambitions, then naturally those local companies will not like it."

Western authorities have often criticized Russia for blackmailing its former Soviet neighbors using Gazprom, particularly after Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine in January of this year in a dispute over gas prices.

Alexander Livshits, director of the international and special projects department of Russian aluminum giant RusAl, one of the world's top three aluminum producers, said the West was simply not ready morally for the arrival of major Russian companies.

"On the whole, Russian companies are accepted, but speaking about the negative side, I would say it consists of 10% Russophobia and 90% non-preparedness," Livshits said.

The expert said that Russia also has advantages in such a situation, since the country is considered to have a developing market system.

"We know how they [developing markets] work, and we act more effectively in this area compared with our Western competitors," he said.

Foreign countries have consistently said that Russia must improve its political situation and the transparency of its corporate management if it wants to see Russian companies operating on foreign markets.

Pyotr Aven, president of Alfa Bank, which was founded in 1990 and is one of Russia's top 30 banks by assets, said the policy of Western countries in making such demands was "meaningless and wrong," adding that only the arrival of Russian companies in foreign markets can provide a "powerful impetus for positive change."

Russian Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Andrei Sharonov said in turn that the government should conduct a balanced and deliberate policy in support of Russian companies operating in foreign markets.

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