Translated material
Moscow region logistics
The Moscow region attracted $2.5 billion for construction in six months
This year the Moscow region will set a record for attracting foreign investment in the construction sector. As the regional Minister of Construction Evgeniy Seregin said at an extended meeting of the board of the regional Ministry of Construction recently, in the first half of the year alone, foreign investments in construction in the region amounted to $2.5 billion. “This is a good result for the Moscow region,” notes the head of the research department of the consulting company DTZ Regina Lochmele. “In 2002, the total volume of foreign investment was only $700 million, and in 2005 - $2.5 billion. Thus, the growth trend is obvious.”According to Mr. Seregin, most of the investments go into the construction of manufacturing enterprises, as well as large logistics and shopping complexes. “Our strategic task is to build a network of modern logistics complexes in a 50-kilometer zone around Moscow that will intercept cargo flows on the way to the capital,” the minister said.
According to the consulting company Jones Lang LaSalle, almost 70% of foreign investors invest in warehouse real estate, 30% in shopping centers and housing. 50% of Russian investors work in the housing market, only 25% of companies are involved in warehouse real estate, 10% in offices, and about 15% in retail.
A variety of projects may be of interest to investors in the Moscow region, experts say. Foreigners give preference to the commercial real estate market, mainly in the retail and industrial and warehouse segments. “The Moscow region is a priority area for the location of industrial enterprises and production,” notes Ms. Lochmele. “The creation of industries is supported at the administrative level, as it stimulates the creation of jobs.”
The amount announced by Mr. Seryogin is formed by projects of different costs. Thus, the Kazakh company Eurasia is building the largest logistics complex in the Moscow region, Severnoye Domodedovo, with a total area of more than 1 million square meters. meters, the investment volume will be about $700 million. The British investment fund London & Regional Properties is engaged in a multifunctional complex on Kievskoye Shosse, investments in the facility are estimated at $800-850 million. Another British fund - Raven Russia - together with EGL Holdings plans to withdraw a logistics complex near Sheremetyevo Airport with an area of 55 thousand square meters is on the market. m for 56 million dollars.
In the retail sector , one of the largest investors is undoubtedly IKEA. She announced her intention to invest $2.7 billion in the creation of at least 18 Mega shopping centers, which will also appear in the Moscow region. According to market analysts, the cost of one shopping center is $150-200 million. The office segment of the market is currently developing mainly in Moscow and areas adjacent to the Moscow Ring Road. But the demand for land is constantly growing. Last week, UFG Asset Management announced the creation of a fund with a volume of $150 million, which will specialize in the purchase of land in Russia, including in the near Moscow region.
“Nevertheless, not every project, even highly profitable one, is of interest to foreign investors. For them, the main thing is the legal side of the transaction. All documents must be correctly executed, the transaction must be transparent and understandable from the point of view of legislation and taxes,” comments leading analyst of the consulting company Russian Research Group Dmitry Ivanchenko. -- Foreign investors are ready to enter such a project, even with a relatively low return for Russia (for example, 10-15%). For Russian companies, the first place is not legal transparency, but the profitability of the project.” None of the surveyed consulting companies undertakes to evaluate the investments of Russian companies in the real estate market near Moscow. This is attributed to the difficulty of monitoring, because many Russian companies do not disclose the amount of investment in projects. In addition, unlike foreign investors, they also work in the housing market.
According to Mr. Seregin, the total volume of foreign investment this year will reach $5 billion. Most experts consider this figure to be absolutely realistic. “According to our assumptions, the volume of foreign investment in commercial real estate will only grow,” says Mr. Ivanchenko, “this is facilitated by the development of cities in the Moscow region, industry, and the departure of many companies to the regions. In addition, we can note the development of the entertainment and sports components, which will also lead to the infrastructure. This process will also be affected by the logistics development program along the regional Small Concrete Ring, which has been approved by local authorities. This means that these projects will have support in administrative circles, and accordingly they will be provided with complete transparency.”
Managing director of the consulting company Praedium, Ruben Alchudzhyan, believes that the declared amount is unlikely to be spent: “Unfortunately, in the Moscow and Moscow region market it has developed that companies declare their readiness to invest large amounts of money in projects, but only 50% of plans are actually implemented. At the same time, it cannot be said that high investment indicators attract other investors to the market. Rather, it’s the other way around: investors see that there are many more applications than completed or even started projects.”