New York, October 20, 2011 - NYSE Euronext (NYX), in partnership with International Roundtable, will host the first annual Russia Business and Investment Summit (RBIS) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday, Oct. 27 and Friday, Oct. 28.  The summit will open with one-on-one meetings between public and private Russian companies and investment funds on Thursday. Friday's agenda will feature keynote speeches and panel discussions with notables including: Stanislav Voskresenskiy, Deputy RF Minister of Economic Development, Oleg Viyugin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, MDM Bank; Steven Lawrence Geiger, Chief Operating Officer, Skolkovo; Mark Gyetvay, CFO, Novatek, Evgeny Kornilov, CFO, UC RUSAL and Vladislav Baumgertner, CEO, Uralkali, among others.
Summit topics will include an evaluation of the successes of the US-Russia "reset," challenges associated with doing business in Russia, Russia's top-down economic and strategic outlook, key reforms needed to improve Russia's investment climate,  and, the potential implications of recent political developments for Russia's business environment. The panels will highlight leading executives from the mining, manufacturing, energy, financial services, pharmaceuticals, retail, IT, media, and the telecommunications sectors.  To view a preliminary agenda, please visit www.irtinc.org/NYSE_RBIS.
"NYSE Euronext is pleased to partner with IRT to host the Russia Business and Investment Summit," said Diederik Zandstra, Head of International Listings at NYSE Euronext.  "The summit will present US investors with valuable insight and exposure to business investments in Russia, the world's 11th largest economy.  The forum will also offer Russian companies the prospect of elevating their brand awareness and visibility to the deepest pool of investors outside the region."
Ed Kuczma, an investment team member at Van Eck Global, outlined the following next steps for retail in Russia: "The pieces are in place for investors to take advantage of the potential of the growing middle class and increasing levels of consumption. This segment of the economy can be used to reduce the volatility in economic growth and steer Russia away from being dependent on commodity exports. In addition, the modernization of Russian retail sales has the potential to create additional jobs, attract foreign direct investment and develop new industries that can supply goods and services to fulfill the pent-up demand of Russian consumers. With so many positive indicators for Russian retail sales it is clear that fundamental changes to the business culture must take place in order for Russia to continue to develop as an appealing market for significant foreign and domestic investment."
"Russia not only offers many interesting investment opportunities but the stock market is developing at quite a fast pace when it comes to the amount of instruments you can use for hedging. The region is now sophisticated enough to attract a hedge fund strategy but still offers opportunities of mispricing or where the risk reward is attractive." - Johan Ekstrom, Senior Portfolio Manager, Opal Russia Fund.

The Summit will break for the NYSE Closing Bell, which will be rung by summit speakers and panelists, and will conclude with a reception in the NYSE Board Room.  RBIS speakers will be available for interviews throughout the day.
Event partners include: U.S.-Russia Business Council; American-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; The M&A Advisor; Mikhailov & Partners; EPAM; and, Russia Beyond The Headlines, among others.
For more information and to register for the event, please contact:
Taisiya Solovyeva
646-415-9268
info@irtinc.org
www.irtinc.org
Media interested in covering the summit should contact:
Anna Sergeeva
media@irtinc.org
Judy Shaw
NYSE Euronext
212.656.4290
jshaw@nyx.com
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