(FORTUNE Magazine) – Even though Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev didn't get the cash he'd hoped for at the annual Group of Seven meeting in London -- the leaders of the seven richest countries promised technical expertise instead -- a slew of big corporations are betting long term that he will bring about a market economy. Among them: Colgate-Palmolive, which in July signed a preliminary agreement with a Ukrainian state-owned company to manufacture toothpaste and other products. The same month GTE agreed to invest up to $10 million in Sovintel, a joint venture with the Soviets that will build and run a telephone and fax system connecting Moscow and the rest of the world. France's Pierre Cardin is moving in too. The fashion house already sells its clothing through Soviet retailers, including Moscow's GUM department store. Next year the company will open its own shop offering a wider selection. To drum up future customers, company founder Pierre Cardin, 69, turned up recently at a Red Square fashion show of company lines.