Archive for September, 2009
Top Trade Partners, Exports, Imports of Russia
Among the major emerging markets, Russia is one of the few countries that holds an abundance of various natural resources such as crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, etc. Though the country’s stock market fell hard last year, Russia is an attractive destination for investors who can take advantage of the wild swings in the commodity markets. In this post lets take a quick look at the top exports, imports and trade partners of Russia for 2008.
What are the major exports and imports of Russia?
Click to Expand
The largest exports comprising nearly 66% of total exports is oil and other mineral fuels. The next major export commodity is iron and steel. Major imports into Russia include vehicles and machinery.
Not surprisingly the major components of the Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) are commodities. The Top 4 stocks in the portfolio are oil and natural gas stocks. As of August 31,2009 the ETF is up by nearly 80%. The expense ratio is 0.62% and the fund has an asset base of about $940M.
What are the major trade partners of Russia?
Due to close proximity and high energy demand, Europe is the largest export market for Russia.The top 3 countries for Russian Exports in 2008 were The Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The major source of imports were China, Japan and Germany.
Russia’s GDP per capita has been steadily increasing since 2000 as the graph shows below.
Source: Country Profile, Russian Federation 2009
Statistics Germany
Unlike many developed economies, Russia has a budget surplus and the public accounted for 6.4%of GDP in 2008. In terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2007, inward FDI was $324 B and outward FDI was$255B.
Despite having vast natural resources Russia still lacks modern infrastructure. The majority of goods are still transported mostly by railroads as the highway system is not up to global standards.There is tremendous potential for growth in the retail, automotive and infrastructure sectors.
The Top Trade Partners of Sweden 2008
Sweden is home to some of the world-class companies such as Ikea, Volvo, Ericsson, H&M and AstraZeneca. In terms of foreign trade, Sweden has run a trade surplus for many years.
The top five export markets for Sweden are: Denmark, Norway, UK , Germany and USA. The top country for Swedish exports is German followed by Norway. Outside of Europe, USA is the largest export destination for Sweden.
The top five countries from which Sweden imports most of its goods and services include: France, Spain, Belgium, Finland and Italy. Finland is the largest import supplier to Sweden followed by France.
Since 2002, Sweden has consistently run a trade surplus since its exports are greater than imports.
Related sites:
Energy Demand to Soar in China and India
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projected in its 2008 World Energy Outlook that emerging markets’ energy demand will soar from thru the year 2030. Among the developing countries India and China are estimated to be big consumers of energy as the graph shows below.
Energy demand in developed world is estimated to be in slow growth mode. The OECD Observer article noted:
“Some of today’s largest energy consumers are of course not members of the agency, a fact that directly influences how we work. Our own projections show that non-OECD countries collectively will account for 87% of the increase in primary energy demand between 2006-2030, with China and India alone claiming over 50% of this growth.”
Gold Vs. Equities Performance in 2008
Gold futures closed above $1,000 an ounce today. Gold is still investors favorite as many are wary of the equity market. Last year when equities worldwide got thrashed gold was the winner. Gold prices soared as investors fled to safety from stocks.
The chart below shows the performance of major country stock markets and gold in 2008:
In many countries gold was up considerably in local prices last year. For example in Russia when the equity market cratered by 68%, gold was up by 25%. In UK, gold skyrocketed by 45% when the FTSE fell by 31%.
Failed Banks in Japan
Japan had its last bank failure in 2002. Chubu Bank failed in 2002 and required assistance from the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan. Around 52 banks failed in 2002, the highest in recent years according to the chart below:
Source: IMF
The failed list of banks in Japan include:
(as of December 29, 2002)
| Failed Financial Institutions | Date of management order | Date of business transfer agreement signed | Date of business transfer | Assuming Financial Institutions |
| Kokumin Bank | Apr. 11, 1999 | Mar. 7, 2000 | Aug. 14, 2000 | Yachiyo Bank |
| Kofuku Bank | May 22, 1999 | Oct. 6, 2000 | Feb. 26, 2001 | Kansai Sawayaka Bank |
| Tokyo Sowa Bank | June 12, 1999 | Jan. 25, 2001 | June 11, 2001 | Tokyo Star Bank |
| Namihaya Bank | Aug. 7, 1999 | July 28, 2000 | Feb. 13, 2001 | Daiwa Bank and Kinki Osaka Bank |
| Niigata Chuo Bank | Oct. 2, 1999 | Dec. 21, 2000 (Towa Bank signed on Dec. 22, 2000) |
May 14, 2001 (Daishi Bank signed on May 9, 2001) |
Taiko Bank, Daishi Bank, Hachijuni Bank, Higashi-Nippon Bank, Gunma Bank and Towa Bank |
| Nichinan Shinkin Bank | Nov. 19, 1999 | Oct. 20, 2000 | Mar. 26, 2001 | Nango Shinkin Bank |
| Kansai Kogin Credit Cooperative | Dec. 16, 2000 | Jan. 17, 2002 | June 17, 2002 | Kinki Sangyo Credit Cooperative |
| Chogin Tokyo Credit Cooperative | Dec. 29, 2000 | Dec. 17, 2002 | Dec. 29, 2002 | Hana Credit Cooperative Rcc |
| Ishikawa Bank | Dec. 28, 2001 | Mar. 28, 2002 ( with BBJ ) Dec. 27, 2002 |
Mar. 24, 2003 | (through BBJ) Hokuriku Bank, Hokkoku Bank, Firs Bank of Toyama, Kanazawa Shinkin Bank, Noto Shinkin Bank |
| Sogo Shinkin Bank | Jan. 25, 2002 | Feb. 20 2002 | June 10, 2002 | Osaka Shinkin Bank |
| Chubu Bank | March 8, 2002 | Mar. 28, 2002 ( with BBJ ) Dec. 6, 2002 |
Mar. 3, 2003 | (through BBJ) Shimizu Bank, Shizuoka Chuo Bank, Tokyo Star Bank |
Source: Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
Over 90 banks have failed in the U.S. syear to date.For a listing of failed U.S. banks go here.
Emerging Markets Have The Highest Cell Phone Growth
Developing countries have the highest growth in mobile phone growth as per an article titled Dial Growth in the latest edition of Finance and Development magazine of IMF.
From the article:
“Just a decade ago, there were still some countries with no mobile service at all. Since then, wireless telephone coverage has enveloped the globe. Mobile phone subscriptions have skyrocketed from 1 billion in 2002 to an estimated 4.1 billion by the end of 2008, covering more than half of the world’s population. The fastest growth rates have been in low-income countries. In Africa mobile phone penetration has soared from just 1 in 50 people at the turn of the century to 28 percent.
The World Bank (2009b) says this growth has been driven primarily by new wireless technologies and liberalization of telecommunications markets, which enabled faster and less costly network rollout. The total number of mobile phones in the world surpassed the number of fixed-line telephones in 2002; and mobile phones now represent the world’s largest distribution platform.”
Charts:
Source: Finance & Development, September 2009, IMF
The article talks about how cell phones are changing lives in many African and other developing countries.
