Finance

Home page

Finance

Worldâ€™s best Finance Minister selected

11 October 2010 08:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Euromoney presented the Finance Minister of the Year 2010 award to Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. The magazine praised Kudrin for his policy of saving the windfall Russia made from its oil boom in a stabilization fund â€“ for which he had to withstand huge political pressure â€“ that was crucial to the countryâ€™s ability to emerge from the global financial crisis in a much better shape than most had expected, Jerusalem Post reported.

â€œKudrin is rightly hailed as a fiscal manager of the highest order,â€ Euromoney said. â€œNot just in the West, where his championing of the free market and fiscal prudence long made him a favourite of foreign investors, but also in Russia, a country which has not always taken kindly to reformers.â€

â€œEntering the financial crisis with nearly $600 billion in foreign reserves allowed Russia to manage a 30% decline in the ruble,â€ the magazine said. â€œThe stabilization fund also enabled Russia to pay off its foreign debt early. Kudrin is also rightly praised for his commitment to tax and budget reform, Russiaâ€™s desire to join the World Trade Organization and continuing the progress in privatization.â€

Note that, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer has been named central bank governor of the year by Euromoney, a global magazine for banking and finance, for successfully managing the economy through the aftermath of the global financial crisis.