Prokhorov to invest $1 bln in development projects

Open Investment (OPIN) development group owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov will invest about $1 billion in several development projects in the next few years, OPIN said in a statement on Tuesday. OPIN intends to build three multi-apartment residential compounds of elite, business and economy categories with a total floorspace of over 600,000 square meters, three cottage communities in an area of over 500 hectares and two large shopping malls with over 40,000 square metes, OPIN said. OPIN will present its development projects at an oyster press lunch at the international MIPIM 2012 real estate show to be held in Cannes, France, in early March. Prokhorov, the only independent candidate running in Russia’s presidential elections on Sunday, is ranked by Forbes as the country’s third richest man with a fortune of around $18 billion.