Page 11 - Eastern Europe Outlook 2020

Credit Suisse says the Russian economy is expected to show a stable growth of 2-3% in 2020,​ but much will depend on oil prices. The ruble will also continue strengthening against the US dollar. Credit Suisse sees a high potential for the Russian economy growth. “I think that the key criterion is competitiveness, here Russia could do much more. Russia has very educated and able-bodied population, relatively low cost of labour, energy, real estate and so on – all this looks attractive,” ​vice chairman of the investment committee of Credit Suisse Burkhard Varnholt ​ said.
• National Projects
Russia’s growth in 2020 will depend heavily on how effective the implementation of the 12 national projects will be. The programme was off to a very slow start in 2019, but the pace is expected to accelerate in 2020 as the Kremlin cranks up the pressure and the preliminary assessment work is completed.
According to the Accounts Chamber, in 9mo19 execution of expenses on National Projects stood at 52.1%. The National Projects for Healthcare, Science, and Demography were the leaders, with 67.5%, 66.2% and 65% of funds prescribed for 2019 spent in 9mo19, respectively. The laggards were Environment and Digitalisation, with just 22.1% and 12.3% of funds spent in the same period, respectively.
11​ EASTERN EUROPE Outlook 2020​ ​ ​www.intellinews.com