The main results of the first day – from the IPO boom to hybrid Ladas and the future of AI / Politics news of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Newslab.Ru
4 June 15:57
The XXIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026) started in St. Petersburg. The main theme of the year is “Pragmatic dialogue – the path to a stable future.”
Despite global challenges, the forum retains its international status: ExpoForum hosts delegations from more than 130 countries, including representatives from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the West. The first day of the business program brought a number of important announcements for the financial market, industry and technology sectors.
One of the central topics of the first day was the revival of the stock market. The Bank of Russia predicts a “noticeable recovery” of the market for initial public offerings in the second half of 2026. According to the Ministry of Finance, now about 20 Russian companies are actively preparing to enter the stock exchange. Avito has also announced its fundamental readiness for an IPO, but the company is still waiting for the market capacity to increase.
An important statement was also made by the Moscow Exchange: the return of foreign investors is possible, but only on the principles of strict reciprocity. Meanwhile, Sber announced support for small businesses – the bank will return 50% of the VAT accrued for acquiring to 150 thousand SMEs.
The Russian automobile industry presented its flagship new products on the sidelines of the forum. Participants saw updated versions of the Aurus Senat and Aurus Senat Long executive sedans with a modernized design and an expanded set of multimedia solutions.
AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov shared his ambitious plans: by the end of the year the company can present a prototype of the hybrid version of the Lada Azimut. It was also noted that the role of small and medium-sized businesses in Russian production over the past year has grown by a record 35%, reaching a share of 15% of the total industry.
In the technology block, the main emphasis was placed on the development of artificial intelligence. Yandex representatives called on neural network developers to be responsible for the level of user trust in AI, especially when it comes to the interaction of technologies with children. Experts emphasized that creating an adequate perception of the capabilities of neural networks is a key challenge for the industry in 2026.
The first day was marked by the signing of a series of investment agreements in the fields of metallurgy, logistics and gasification. The project to create a large data processing center (DPC) in the DPR attracted particular attention.
The main event of the forum will be the plenary session on June 5 with the participation of Vladimir Putin. The presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, the Deputy Chairman of the People's Republic of China and the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia will appear on the same stage with the Russian leader. This composition of participants confirms the course towards the formation of a multipolar economic dialogue.
SPIEF-2026 continues its work, and in the coming days new contracts are expected to be signed, which will determine the vector of development of the Russian economy in the coming years.
