Capital controls, what capital controls? The Russian Minister of Economic Development says njet, at least he has now plans. Of course he wouldn't say so, wouldn't he? Capital controls are that kind of stuff you want to blitz the markets with.
He is of course right that Russia has not imposed any of that in the recent past, but the situation is of course unique, as the Russian economy shrinks, survey suggests and capital flight has reached record heights.
As long as investors have to fear heavy economic sanctions and Russian reactions it is difficult to see how we don't end up north of a $ 150bn - in a $ 2000bn GDP economy. As some have already pointed out in this thread the key Russian figures are almost singing sweet songs now to foreign investors after rather gross initial reactions from the Duma floor. A couple of smart guys must have told them what was already clear in the first pages of the thread - if Russia hits foreign investors hard it cuts much deeper into it's own flesh...In the first quarter of this year, the net outflow of foreign capital from Russia has reached some $70 billion, according to an estimate announced March 24 by the Ministry of of Economic Development. That is already more than the $62.7 billion outflow for all of 2013.
It may be seen as a very unfair advantage of Western economic power, but a huge advantage it still is.
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