"All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy
family is unhappy in its own way." So Tolstoy has it in Anna
Karenina. Something similar could be said of Russia's companies.
After two years of relatively strong economic growth, the managers
of Russia's leading companies are becoming increasingly happy.
Production and sales are rising. They have enough money to make
investments for the moment and international prices are high, while
the government has cut taxes to low levels.
Russia's big business has taken advantage of the benign conditions
to consolidate companies and buy new ones that look likely to be
profitable. As they grow, the leaders are starting to look alike.
Of the oil majors only Surgutneftegas now doesn't produce financial
reports in line with international accounting standards, and more
and more companies are introducing corporate governance codes or
inviting independent directors on to their boards. Indeed, during
the recent annual general meeting season...
