Page 39 - bne IntelliNews monthly country report Russia February 2024

Russia. Until now, the EU had only frozen the assets of individuals and legal entities that were included in the sanctions lists. Talks about their confiscation were discussed, but European legislation does not allow alienating property. Now, the EU is introducing an exception: if the Russian division of a European company was forcibly transferred to the control of Russian authorities, it will be possible to use Russian assets to pay the agreed, adequate compensation to the parent company. According to economists, the EU’s 12th package of sanctions allows European countries to adopt laws to compensate companies whose assets were taken into ownership or management by Russia.
4.4 Fixed investment
Putin said that in the second quarter of 2023, investments in fixed capital increased by 12.6%, and in the third quarter - by 13.3%. "Investments are growing. This means that conditions are being created for future development in the medium term. It is necessary to support growing business activity and ensure the availability of financial resources for businesses in those areas that cover the needs of the domestic market and export demand," Putin said.
Putin stated that expanding contacts with countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America give up fresh potential for the Russian economy in nearly any business. According to the president, the number of domestic light industry enterprises has expanded by 80% in a year and a half, furniture producers - by 30%, and children's toys - by 20%. Furthermore, the number of trademarks owned by Russian corporations has climbed by more than a third in the last year and a half.
4.5 Labour and income
4.5.1 Labour market, unemployment dynamics
Since the invasion began, the population of ‘surplus’ labour available has fallen from roughly 1.25 million to 500,000. labour shortages are now overwhelming businesses.
A new analysis from Yakov & Partners (formerly McKinsey’s Russia division) estimates the economy will broadly be short 2−4 million workers by 2030 per current trends. The number of job vacancies in Q3 2023 were 230% higher than Q3 2022, with the worst shortages seen in IT, logistics, manufacturing and agriculture.
39 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com