Companies in which foreign investors hold a controlling stake could gain access to Russian deposits of national importance, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said.

The mortgage market is one of the fastest-growing elements of Russia's banking business. The percentage of home purchases through mortgages has risen from 3.5% in mid-2005 to 14% by the middle of 2007. And the banks expect more of the same despite headlines about rising interest rates.

ExxonMobil has been denied permission to start work on a gas pipeline to China from Sakhalin-1 this year, the Industry and Energy Ministry said in a statement on its web site.

The Murmansk Shipping Company is set to sign contracts with Chinese shipbuilders on the construction of 12 ice-class bulker ships, the company's general director said.

Domestic gas demand in Russia is rising faster than gas exports presenting a challenge to Gazprom. The latest gas field, Yuzhno-Russkoye, started production this week but Gazprom still faces challenges in boosting its output.

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched a new 104,000-dwt tanker ordered by Russia's Primorsk Shipping Corporation (PRISCO), a company spokesperson said.