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Moscow: Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov plans to snap up Russian real estate on the cheap as developers buckle under the weight of expensive materials and credit, but a top Moscow property developer is betting $10 million he can't.
Sergei Polonsky, the 35-year-old chairman of Mirax Group, has challenged Prokhorov to complete at least one real estate project of not less than 100,000 square metres in size.
Moscow has become the world's second-most expensive city after London, based on the price of a square metre of real estate, and many analysts say the rise could continue since the market depends little on mortgages unlike elsewhere in the world.
Prokhorov, Russia's fifth-richest man, made his fortune in mining and banking. He told Kommersant newspaper last week he planned to acquire distressed real estate companies in Russia as the sector suffered a hard landing from spiralling costs.
Prokhorov said he was studying nine property projects worldwide, including an elite resort development in Southeast Asia.
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