Moscow hopes venture capital will boost investment and kick-start a high-tech industry that is sadly lacking funding. Ben Aris reports from Moscow.

Russia’s seventh year of economic expansion has fired growth in the country’s banking sector.

The sale of 40% of Kazakhstan state oil exploration and production company KazMunaiGas in a two-part offering was a roaring success, despite oil prices falling as the deal was going down. The Credit Suisse team responsible for “driving the execution” talk to Edward Russell-Walling.

Concerns are growing over the creation of a new unified financial industry regulator that will reduce the independent overseeing powers of the central bank and its chief. By Jan Cienski in Warsaw.

Tatarstan’s Ak Bars Bank is well on its way to fulfilling its aim of making Russia’s Top 10. John McCarthy reports.

Despite political uncertainty, in the first half of 2006 corporate bond issuance in Ukraine was beginning to look very healthy. Ben Aris reports on the fledgling market.

Independents stay ahead of the pack, acquisitions continue apace and rationalisation is under way.

Deutsche Bank is a clear winner for Investment Bank of the Year: EMEA. The scale of its business in Europe is pretty unique, with a particularly powerful franchise across equity and debt capital markets, and FX and derivatives.

Forget the black gold of its oil industry – Azerbaijan’s real treasure is its cultural status as the birthplace of Indo-European civilisation, and the country is considering how to promote this to tourists. Courtney Fingar reports from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s oil windfall is calculated to total $1000 dollars per capita per year for the next 20 years. Nick Kochan explains how production is being apportioned.