Climate-investment-control

Russia has no money. The government again began to seriously look after Western investors

In September 2008, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov admitted to members of the Valdai Club, which brings together world experts on Russia, that he personally called Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika and persuaded him not to start mass seizures of TNK-BP documents until the quarreling shareholders agreed among themselves. This was an exception to the rule, Shuvalov said, usually foreign capital in Russia does not need additional protection from officials. Now a high-ranking official, Shuvalov, is the commissioner for investors' rights and is engaged in protecting them officially and on an ongoing basis. And the Ministry of Economic Development supervised by him creates a system of emergency assistance to foreign businesses.

Since the summer of 2008, oil prices have fallen, external financial resources have risen in price, there is no hope for Russian business - domestic companies and banks already owe almost half a trillion dollars to their Western counterparts. This means that the help of foreign capital is needed, but he is in no hurry to Russia. In February, the head of the Ministry of Economy, Elvira Nabiullina, admitted to Dmitry Medvedev that 60% of foreign direct investment in Russia is the money of Russian business, issued through companies in foreign jurisdictions.

It was decided to put manual support to foreign businessmen on stream. The President instructs his administration and government to simplify as much as possible all procedures for foreigners starting a business in Russia. The government comes up with a special program to increase investment attractiveness. The Ministry of Economy should help investors with advice and deeds.

Already at the end of December, the Foreign Investment Advisory Council, which had been operating since 1994, was reformed, “an absolutely inanimate body,” according to a Newsweek source in the government apparatus, about which the prime minister recalled every few years, “and on New Year and Christmas he signed congratulatory letters to its members postcards". Now an executive committee has appeared in it, headed by Nabiullina, and her ministry is trying to quickly consider the complaints of foreigners. “The most effective structure [for Western business] has now become precisely the Advisory Board,” says a director of one of the Western firms participating in its work. He explains what the meaning is: “The highest officials will immediately find out about the issue brought up for discussion.”

According to the interlocutors in the White House and the Ministry of Economy, the complaints system is really convenient and simple. It is enough for investors to write a letter addressed to Nabiullina or the investment ombudsman Shuvalov, and specialists from the Ministry of Economy, “one-stop service” for investors, as Nabiullina calls his department, rush to their aid. It is not necessary to be a member of the council: IKEA is not included, but its problems are already being solved.

In early April, the head of the Ministry of Economy reported to the government on the already considered complaints of foreign companies. Newsweek has the text of this letter. Since the beginning of the year, seven appeals have been considered, mainly related to the work of the Russian customs and import duties. Not everyone was able to help.

Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and Tetra Pak have asked the government to consider lowering import duties on raw materials they then handle in Russia. For example, Tetra Pak wanted to reduce payments for imported cardboard base, which is nowhere to be bought in Russia anyway. They were refused. Kraft Foods itself withdrew its statement, realizing after consulting with the Ministry of Economy that it simply did not understand the intricacies of legislation related to the import of milk powder.

But Procter & Gamble is already enjoying the new business climate. The company asked to simplify the import of Always women's pads (one of its brands), which passed through customs as medical products - pills or bandages. The Ministry of Economy organized a meeting between the company's representatives and specialists from the Ministry of Health, and now gaskets will get to Russia in an easier way.

But Western entrepreneurs have more serious problems than gaskets. More than a year ago, IKEA completed the construction of its first store in Samara, and for half a year now, the inscription “Opening soon!” has been hanging on its website. The regional authorities did not issue permits for the land, the company postponed the opening date several times, and then even announced that it would leave Samara altogether. Now a Newsweek source in the Ministry of Economy claims that the store could be opened by the end of summer - thanks to the intervention of his department and the presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District, Grigory Rapota.

Helped the American metallurgical company Alcoa. Alcoa Russia President Andrey Donets told Newsweek that last year the operator of the port terminal in Nakhodka delayed their cargo because the transport company serving it owes money to the port. Alcoa Russia went to the police, to the court and at the same time wrote a complaint to the Advisory Council. The Ministry of Economy intervened, and the Ministry of Transport eventually made changes to its regulations. At the end of the year, they will come into force, and cargo owners will no longer suffer from conflicts between ports and transport workers. “This is a real example of [the council's] quick response to a specific problem,” Donets says.

Leaders of business associations are confident that such a mechanism to help businesses has a future. Elena Nikolaeva, deputy chairman of Delovaya Rossiya, is confident that the council "will be a very effective body, because the level of consideration of issues there is the highest." Vladimir Golovnev, the first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship, agrees with her: “This will be the body closest to the authorities, a platform where foreign investors can ask any questions and get answers.”

But helping those who are already working in Russia is half the battle. The main thing is to lure others. For this, a program has already been prepared to increase the investment attractiveness of Russia. On the eve of the May holidays, in a letter to the prime minister (available from Newsweek), Nabiullina suggested that the government become more open and meet with investors more often.

In July 2010, a round table will be held for Western investment analysts and economic journalists - vice-premiers and ministers will talk about their plans and even ask for advice on how best and more correctly to change the image of the Russian economy. A month earlier, investors will be courted at the economic forum in St. Petersburg.

Beginning in September, the Ministry of Economy plans to hold quarterly briefings with the participation of the country's leadership and senior officials for the leading Western financial media. At the same time, officials will be forced to personally travel to world financial centers such as New York, London or Hong Kong and convince global businesses that they are guaranteed a green light and support in Moscow. An employee of the Kremlin's expert department told Newsweek that the possibility of concluding a new contract with one of the world's leading PR companies to establish contacts with the world press, investors and banks is being discussed.

Whether the government will be able to seriously start a new romance with global business is hard to say. The price of oil will skyrocket, and instead of specially selected intelligent officials who know English and know how to call whoever they need, poorly functioning Russian courts will again wait for investors. But domestic entrepreneurs from this new love of the state to Western investors are already in the black - the liberalization of land and construction legislation, the system of certification of goods and import duties is exactly in their favor.