OREANDA-NEWS.The third annual conference "In search of capital: IPOs and debt instruments" took place in Moscow on October 18-19, the Alfa Bank information department reports. Participants included major executives from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the CBR, the Russian bourses and the National Association of Stock Market Participants, representatives of the country's largest investment companies and banks (including Alfa Bank), managers of international funds, representatives of private business and experts from independent institutes and academic schools.

Unlike in 2005 and 2006, when the goal was exchanging information, the aim of the conference participants this year appeared to be finding ways to encourage investors to put their money in the Russian stock market given the current environment of growing foreign and domestic economic and political risks.

The results of the conference point to a number of topical issues which came to the fore in the experts' discussions and are seen as relevant for monitoring by investors in the months to come:
1. The forecast for Russia's medium-term economic development.
2. Investment themes: the choice of a mixture of industries with the highest investment potential.
3. State and private sector partnership. Development institutions.
4. Liquidity of the Russian banking system. Local specifics. The role of the Central Bank.
5. The exchange rate and inflation.
6. Raising capital. IPOs of Russian companies. The future of IPOs nationwide.
7. The political sphere. Scenarios for the evolution of Russian politicalorganizations in the aftermath of the presidential elections.

The analysts express two bottomline conclusions that, in their opinion, are important for any investor to better understand the particular characteristics of the current situation:
1. The state (represented both by its officials and as a shareholder) is much more sanguine in its assessment of the current market conditions than the business community and independent experts.
2. Investors are currently underestimating the risks of investing in Russian assets.