OREANDA-NEWS. March 31, 2011. Otkritie hosted a press lunch to mark the official opening of its new London offices and set out the strategy for its investment banking business in Europe and beyond. The building boasted panoramic views of the city, which was the setting for the afternoon, reported the press-centre of Otkritie.

A broad selection of Russian, UK and international media were in attendance at the event and they had the opportunity to hear a presentation from the senior management team, including Roman Lokhov (Member of the Board of Directors, Managing Director, Head of Capital Market Operations and Investment Banking Services), Igor Vayn (Managing Director, Deputy Head of Capital Market Operations and Investment Banking Services, Head of Capital Market Trends and Corporate Finance), Tom Mundy (Chief Strategist) and Howard Snell (Chairman, Otkritie Securities Limited). Otkritie’s success story and expansion within the industry was discussed along with a review of recent business initiatives, hiring programmes and business achievements. This included the launch and evolution of the Direct Market Access offering and the establishment of a fully-fledged investment banking business. The discussions concluded with a look to forthcoming expansion plans including the establishment of a presence in New York and the expansion of the client base across key investors sectors globally.

Tom Mundy, Chief Strategist at Otkritie set out the broader case for investment in Russia, explaining how Russia has had a strong recovery since the global financial crisis. Its low levels of leverage, significant foreign exchange reserves and an almost eradicated budget deficit are strong indicators that the Russian economy is financially secure. With a strong earnings growth forecast for Russian Corporates, Russia continues to be a beneficiary of in-flows from investors and remains a supplier of oil and commodities to the world.

Following the presentation journalists were invited to an open Q&A session with the senior management team and afterwards the opportunity to speak with the management team at Otkritie on a one-to-one basis.

The event was attended by a wide variety of publications from both the UK and Russia.