Speaking at the 9th Annual Russian Economic Forum in London, 24 April 2006, Peter Aven, President of Alfa-Bank, noted that the major rise of Russian financial market indices, which have significantly outperformed other markets in recent years, underscored the country’s strong growth potential.

Each year, the Russian Economic Forum brings leading captains of industry, investors, journalists, politicians and other key opinion formers to London from Russia, Europe, the Americas and elsewhere, to discuss and debate the business climate of one of the world’s most exciting emerging market. In 2005, it attracted a record of over 2000 delegates.

A special session focused on economic relations between Russia and Ukraine was sponsored by Alfa-Bank. The discussion was moderated by Stefan Wagstyl, East Europe Editor at Financial Times, and attended by Olga Butenko, Head of Department of Structured Financial Products at Alfa Capital Ukraine.

According to Olga Butenko, the recent events on Ukraine have again confirmed the importance of this market for both Russia and Europe. It is a challenging environment where local insight and first-hand knowledge is key to making the right choices.

For 2006, the guest speakers participating in the Forum included Jean Lemierre, President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Arkady Dvorkovich, Head of Experts’ Directorate at Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kazmin, President of Sberbank, Robert Dudley, President and CEO of TNK-BP, Charles  E. Ryan, Chief Country Officer and CEO of Deutsche Bank in Russia, John Sunderland, President of Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and Rudi Lamprecht, Member of the Board at Siemens AG.