By Country / Russia
Russia Opens Gazprom's Doors To Foreign Investors
December 29, 2005
Construction work begins on the Baltic Sea pipeline being laid by a Gazprom joint venture, December 2005 (epa)
Fradkov signed the resolution on 28 December. This is the much-anticipated final step in the process of opening up the world's largest gas producer to foreign investors.
Gazprom supplies about half of the European Union's gas imports. Until now, foreigners had been restricted to purchasing a limited number of shares that trade on overseas exchanges at a hefty premium.
(AP)