RUXX – New index of investment attractiveness of Russian companies on foreign markets. Launch and first results

Moscow, February 16, 2006 . 

Russian Industrial Leaders Index (RUXX) is a composite index of Russian companies trading on global exchanges.

It is calculated in US dollars starting January 1st,, 2006 and is available from all major data vendors as of February 1st, 2006.  The index growth for the first month was 15.946%,  from 500 to 579.73 points. The DJIA growth was only 1.371% for the same period.

RUXX is a capital-weighted Index. The higher is the free-float market capitalization of the company, the higher is its respective weight in the Index. However, a 20% weight cap factor is applied to the Index constituents. Usually, changes in the market capitalization and weights are implemented during quarterly review of the Index.

The Index is computed using the last sale price for the trading day (5.30PM New York time). Its constituents include Russian companies whose depositary receipts are listed on global exchanges: (New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, AMEX) The Index value is published daily at 5.55PM New York time in the Dow Jones ITC 2.1 data feed and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). It is available via data vendor networks such as Reuters, Bloomberg and others.

As of January 1st, 2006 the Index is comprised of 12 companies:

Tatneft
Mobile TeleSystems
Rostelecom
Vimpel-Communications
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods Mechel  Steel Group
Rambler Media Group
Gazprom                        
Lukoil                        
Novatek                   
Sistema                     
Golden Telecom

The RUXX Index was commenced by Press Release Group, a New York-based communications company, and the Russian News and Information Agency RIA Novosti. The RUXX Index is calculated and disseminated by Dow Jones & Company. The Index is a unique indicator of demand for Russian companies from foreign investors, both institutional and private. It is also an international benchmark tracking the rate of trust of western financial community into the Russian economy.

Dmitry Surkov, Deputy General Director, RIA Novosti: “We think that there are clear prerequisites for the Index, created by joint efforts of three companies is set to become an essential tool for the foreign investors. We believe this is the perfect time for The Index to appear because many Russian companies are going to list their shares on the foreign exchanges over the next two years. The participation of  Dow Jones will ensure that the Index will become one of the leading indicators  of the demand for the Russian companies” .

Ilya Merenzon, General Director of the Press Release Group: “The RUXX Index is going to fill an important information gap and become an indispensable tool for international market players. Using the Index, the global financial media will track investors’ confidence in the Russian economy as well as emerging markets’ economies in general; traders and analysts will use it as a  financial indicator. Finally, politicians and economists will be able to gauge the attractiveness of the Russian economy and of the attitude of private investors towards changes in Russia. It will become possible, for example, to track the reaction of western investors to government actions or to the changes in the political or social situation”.

Index name for the Exchange – RUXX
Official name in English: Russian Industrial Leaders Index
Index Name:  Russian Industrial Leaders Index action
Ticker:  RUXX
Data feed Output Symbol: rCW1AACMP

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Contact information

Iliya Merenzon
Press Release
[e-mail]
Moscow:
+ 7 926-332-8401
New York:
[phone] 

Кatherina Touton
RIA Novosti
[e-mail] 
[phone] 

Dow Jones Indexes
Help DeskHours of Operation: 16:00 ET Sunday to 19:00 ET Friday
Phone: [phone]
End-of-Day Data and FTP Distribution
Michael Jassmann ([e-mail]) 

CBOT Policy IssuesMark Haraburda ([e-mail])

Russian News and Information Agency RIA Novosti has an extensive network of news correspondents in Russia, the CIS and over 40 foreign countries. Twenty-four hours, seven days a week, RIA Novosti provides its subscribers with economic, financial, social and political information in Russian, main European, Farsi, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese languages. RIA Novosti was established in 2004. Its predecessors were RIA “Vesti”, Novosti Press Agency (1961) and Sovinformburo (1941).

Press Release Group – is a think tank performing strategic communications and market research in Russia, the U.S. and Europe. It was established in 2001. Research and findings performed in the field of international economic indicators have become a major source of information about Russia in the United States. Company’s findings have been quoted by leading American media such as The New York Times, New York Daily News, Reuters and others. The company’s headquarters are in New York.