Alexey Kornya, CFO of Mobile TeleSystems: Global risk perception is skewed

“Russia’s dependence on natural resources is not much different than Western economies’ dependence on their ability to print money,” says the CFO of one of Russia’s largest telecoms operators during the CFO Summit Emerging Europe & CIS. More generally, he says, international investors and rating agencies grossly overestimate the risks in emerging markets. The CFO admits that soft factors such as political risks should not be neglected, but argues that economic fundamentals of companies and governments alike would justify much better risk assessments. And with low leverage in households and governments, he still sees a lot of growth potential in emerging markets.