Finance Archives - RUSSIA'S PIVOT TO ASIA

Featured October 15, 2026

Russia’s Digital Export Drive & Industrial Technology Strategy: The 2026 Digital Solutions Forum & 2nd Global Digital Forum: Analysis

The 2026 Digital Solutions Forum and the 2nd Global Digital Forums have taken place in Moscow with 1,300 attendees from 111 countries, creating opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, telecommunications, digital infrastructure and software. 170 agreements were signed. Russia’s digital industry generated aggregate turnover exceeded US$250.5 billion in 2025, an increase of nearly 20% year on year, while the communications-services market expanded by 13% to reach US$30 billion. We deep dive the events to showcase where the digital economy in going and which countries are cooperating with Russia in its development. This article is of primary interest to anyone involved in digital economic development in the Global South.

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Featured October 14, 2026

Russia’s A7 Fintech Launches International Crypto To Bank Payment Service

Russian fintech company A7 has launched the world’s first global payment service that allows customers to make cross-border transactions using cryptocurrency, allowing customers to pay using USDT, while recipients receive conventional bank transfers through SWIFT without having to handle cryptocurrency themselves. The service was launched on October 13. Payments are available in US dollars, euros, Chinese yuan and UAE dirhams and carry a commission of 0.3%. Transfers take just minutes.

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October 12, 2026

Private Mutual Investment Funds On Moscow Exchange Up 320% In September 2026

In signs of increasing confidence in the Russian economy, private investors boosted investments in mutual investment funds on the Moscow Exchange by 320% year-on-year to ₽19.7 billion (US$231.5 million) in September 2026. Russia has long tried to access the estimated US$80 trillion stored in private bank accounts and appears to be having some success in motivating domestic private capital to seek better returns and invest into the Russian economy and business sector.

October 11, 2026

The Gilan Iran-Russia Trade Development Summit: Turning The Caspian Coastline Into Iran’s Russian Trade Strategy

The first Iran-Russia Trade Development summit has taken place in Bandar Anzali, and places a sharply defined economic proposition at the centre of Tehran’s northern trade strategy. The Caspian Sea acts as a gateway to Russia’s US$300 billion annual import market into substantially larger non-oil exports, transit flows and cross-border investment. We deep dive the bilateral Russia-Iran trade and investment developments.

October 11, 2026

Rosatom Ready To Connect Bangladesh’s Rooppur NPP To The National Grid

Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant will be connected to the power grid at the end of November by Rosatom. The Rooppur nuclear plant, Bangladesh’s most expensive infrastructure facility, has heavy backing from Russia. Moscow has financed US$11.9 billion in state loans for the project, which is estimated to cost up to US$12.8 billion. The plant will provide 12% of Bangladesh’s electricity needs.

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October 10, 2026

Trump To Buy 3 Million Tonnes Of Russian Diesel For US Market

US President Trump has agreed to purchase 3 million tonnes of diesel oil from Russia to alliveviate American shortages, in moves that have shocked Europe and Ukraine. We examine what the deal actually involves, the value, and the implications for US-Russia and US-Europe-Ukrane political relations moving ahead.

October 10, 2026

Sberbank Creates Direct Financial Settlement Mechanism With Myanmar

Sberbank has completed preparations for direct financial settlements with Myanmar, which will support major state contracts and commodity flows. Financial settlements for commodity exports and imports of agricultural products, fertilizers and mechanical engineering will also use the system. The development negates the use of SWIFT and the US dollar as payment tools, while a key element of the scheme is Sberbank’s Indian branch, which provides access to payments in Indian rupees and connects Myanmar companies with Russia, India and the Commonwealth of Independent States markets.

October 8, 2026

President Putin’s Q&A Session At The 2026 Valdai Club Discussions: Full Text, Responses & Analysis

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held an intensive Q&A session at the recent Valdai Club event in Moscow. He covered multiple issues including the differences between the collapse of the USSR and the current situation within Russia, Kaliningrad, the use of nuclear weapons, NATO, the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Russian prior attempts to integrate into Europe, the international maritime rule of law, Iran, the development of the Donbass, China, differences between Russia and Chinese culture, Japan, President Trump, Serbia, India, nuclear proliferation, Italy, the European Union, EU asset returns, a new Iron Curtain, Palestine, BRICS, APEC, Israel, Artificial Intelligence, UN reform, the Northern Sea Route, the Russian economy, Russia-Africa relations, Switzerland, Ukraine, updates on the Ukraine conflict and the potential for movement into a new political direction. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Russia’s global views on Russian and international affairs.

October 5, 2026

Russian Investment Into Tajikistan’s Hydropower Sector

Russia is eying involvement in Tajikistan’s proposed Hualon Hydropower Plant, with a planned capacity exceeding 2.5 billion kWh. However, Russia is acting cautiously and prefers the construction of wind farms to solve Tajikistan’s winter energy requirements. Discussions are continuing.

September 24, 2026

The Eurasian Economic Union & The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 2027-2030 Action Plan: Content & Analysis

The Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have agreed a Joint Action Plan to cover the period 2027-2030. This covers important trade development areas including digitalization, information and communication technologies, customs regulation, agro-industry, food security, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, consumer protection, green-economy issues and information exchange. We deep dive the contents to explain exactly what this means and the impact on EAEU and SCO members.

September 23, 2026

Russia’s Trade With The Global South Hits US$299 Billion In H1 2026: Country By Country Analysis

Russia’s trade with the Global South and ‘friendly’ countries now accounts for 85% of its total, reaching about US$299 billion in H1 2026. The West provides just 15% of Russia’s economic trade and continues to decline. We examine the main Global South trade partners in all regions, and provide the latest H1 2026 trade data. There are some surprising results for those who assume Russia only trades oil with China and India. The non-energy sector on a worldwide basis is increasingly dominant as Global South trade volumes continue a Russian growth trajectory.