A sprawling Russian banking group run by an ally of President Vladimir Putin is fast becoming one of the most powerful forces in the country’s grains market. Since entering the grain export business last year, Andrey Kostin’s government-backed VTB Group has loaded up on assets including port terminals, a rail-freight operator and a trader. Those investments could be worth about $1.5 billion, according to filings and Bloomberg calculations based on VTB valuations.
Bloomberg: State bank VTB is fast grabbing a chunk of Russia’s grain riches
The logo of the VTB Bank on Pushkinska Street in Kyiv on Feb. 3, 2017.
