However, the rumoured size of the stake, 25% plus one share, is a tricky one to manage, says Adam Landes at Renaissance Capital, an investment bank.

ECONOMIST: Russian oil

Eduard Faritov, an analyst at Renaissance Capital, an investment bank, thinks that Russians will be buying nearly 5m new cars a year by then, and 80% of them will be foreign brands.

ECONOMIST: Theme and variations

As Roland Nash, of Renaissance Capital, a Moscow investment bank, notes, the Russian government's budget will, even so, be much smaller than Morocco's.

ECONOMIST: Russian debt: All friends now | The

But, perhaps to take some of the heat off, Khmelnytsky recently reduced his ownership to 10% from 25%, says Renaissance Capital, a Moscow investment bank, citing local sources.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The first of these to strike a deal was Renaissance Capital, a high-profile western-style investment bank with a strong corporate and international client base.

ECONOMIST: Russian finance