FACTBOX: Economic links between Russia and Britain

(Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would expel four diplomats from the Russian embassy in London and suspend visa negotiations in retaliation for Moscow's refusal to extradite a suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer turned critic of President Vladimir Putin, died an agonizing death in London from radioactive poisoning last year.

But despite the political row over suspect Andrei Lugovoy, economic links between Russia and Britain remain deep.

Following is a list of main economic ties.

* London's Stock Exchange has emerged as the primary destination for Russian firms seeking to raise capital. There have been six Russian stock market offerings this year worth $12.2 billion.

* In the second quarter of 2007, three Russian IPOs worth just over $10 billion accounted for half of all money raised in London which in turn is more than half of all capital raised in Europe. This includes the $8 billion offering in June for VTB, Russia's second largest bank.

* Energy imports from Russia to Britain are expected to grow, with Russian state-controlled Gazprom keen to expand to 10 percent share of the British market, the largest gas market in Europe. It also wants to buy North Sea gas projects and expand storage capacity. Gazprom already owns the largest privately-owned gas distributor in Britain, Pennine Natural Gas.

* British energy giant BP plc and Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell retain substantial investments in Russia, despite both ceding control of major projects to Gazprom. BP estimates it has invested $9 billion in its Russian assets.

The giant Sakhalin-2 gas scheme, partly owned by Shell, will cost $22 billion to develop, although Shell is no longer in overall control.

* Major non-energy British investors in Russia include Scottish and Newcastle with a joint stake in Baltika, Russia's largest brewer. Mining firm Rio Tinto also plans to develop joint ventures with Norilsk Nickel.

* Britain invested $3.1 billion in Russia in the first quarter of 2007, becoming the third-largest investor during that time. British investment was more than 10 times greater than inflows from the United States.

Economists warn against the accuracy of all estimates on foreign investment into Russia as some comes from Russian-controlled money being reinvested from abroad.

* Russian property investors show strong appetite for London residential property, especially in the most exclusive areas.

* The highest-profile Russian investment in Britain was the purchase of Chelsea football club by billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003. Abramovich has since spent more than 500 million pounds on buying players and upgrading facilities.