Siemens Suffers Setback in Russia Plans

German engineering giant Siemens suffered a severe setback in its plans to expand in Russia on Wednesday, when the Russian competition authorities blocked the German group's plans to acquire a controlling stake in turbine maker Silovye Mashiny (Power Machines). Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service said it had decided to block the deal because "there is no legal framework in place to address issues relating to a foreign company taking a stake in a Russian company active in the defence sector". But there were also competitive objections to a tie-up -- both companies made energy equipment "of every size and dimension and are rivals both on the Russian and global markets," meaning an alliance would harm competition, the authority argued. Siemens had wanted to expand its activities in the Russian power generation sector by setting up a joint venture with Silovye Mashiny's current owner, Interros.