Major Russian companies likely to be bought up by foreigners

More and more major Russian companies are purchased by foreign giants. Norwegian company Telenor's Vice President has recently announced the company's intention to increase its stake in the Russian mobile operator VimpelCom to at least 51 percent. The French giant Danone is currently holding similar talks with shareholders of the Russian major grocery producer Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC. These and other numerous examples testify to the fact that large Russian businesses are becoming more and more attractive for transnational companies. Moreover, the fact, that some Russian heavyweights are, in their turn, buying foreign stocks, cannot alter this trend.

These facts make some Russian politicians say that the Russian economy and national interests are under attack. Meanwhile, experts believe that western companies are favoring the development of the Russian economy, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported.

© &to=http://www.rbcnews.com' target=_blank>RBC

&to=http://www.vimpelcom.com/' target=_blank>VimpelCom