Page 50 - RUSRptSept18

Switzerland also boosted its presence in Russia by investing in 11 projects last year compared with seven in 2016. The UK also increased the number of its projects, but from a very low base and put up capital in eight projects in 2017 versus two in 2016, thus becoming one of the ten largest investors in Russia. Finland ranked tenth among Russia’s top investors, with seven projects in both 2016 and 2017, according to EY.
After record growth in 2016, the US slowed investment activity in Russia, reducing the number of projects by half, from 38 to 19. Yet, the US ranked third among the ten largest FDI providers for Russia.
Moscow and Moscow Oblast remained the most attractive to investors in 2017, with 54 projects (2016: 49). In 2017 a significant number of those projects (10) comprised investments in the pharmaceuticals industry. The leader in investing in the Moscow region was Germany (10 projects) followed by China (six projects). US and Swiss companies invested in four projects each.
St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast are number two with 17 FDI projects vs. 15 projects in 2016. Of those, Finnish investors finance three projects. German, Israeli and US companies support two projects each.
"Based on the 2017 results, many Russian regions demonstrated positive growth. In Tatarstan, the number of FDI projects doubled from seven to 14, of, which three are financed by US investors. China and Turkey invested in two projects each,” Ivlev said.
Primorsky Krai in Russia’s Far East also showed significant growth, with the number of new projects increasing in 2017 from seven to 12. Interest predominantly came from Asian investors, with three projects financed by investors from mainland China, while Japanese, South Korean and Hong Kong companies invested in two projects each, and businesses from India and Cambodia invested in one project each."
With nine FDI projects, Lipetsk Oblast made it to the top ten regions in 2017 (only two projects in 2016). All of them were financed by European investors except two projects supported by US companies.
Several Russian regions raised FDI for five projects each: Bashkortostan, Belgorod, Vladimir, Novosibirsk and Ulyanovsk oblasts, and Stavropol Krai. Bashkortostan was the only region in Russia, which attracted investors from Vietnam. Two projects in the food sector were financed by Vietnamese companies. Three out of five projects in Belgorod were launched by German investors. In 2016 only two projects were underway in Belgorod and none in Bashkortostan.
The situation is the reverse in Kaluga Oblast, which is home to a highly successful auto-cluster and was number two in 2016. In 2017 the number of FDI projects declined from 15 to seven, investors being only from Europe.
Moscow has taken the fifth spot among Europe's most attractive cities from the viewpoint of foreign investments for the first time ever, press service of Moscow's department for economic policy and development reported in May, according to a survey conducted by fDi magazine.
"Russia's capital has improved its performance in the prestigious rating of attractive cities for investment in Europe. This year Moscow is among top five most interesting cities of the continent for making investments, and it has taken the first spot in the rating of Eastern European cities," department head Vladimir Yefimov was quoted as saying.
50 RUSSIA Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com