Interfax: Over half of foreign investors see positive changes in Russia’s investment climate – Shuvalov

(Interfax – KALININGRAD, May 24, 2013) More than half of foreign investors welcome positive changes in Russia’s investment policy, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.

“The government believes that the investment climate in Russia is improving now. This is what foreign investors are saying. As many as 53% foreign companies working in the country confirm this opinion,” Shuvalov said at a meeting of an advisory council on foreign investment in Kaliningrad.

In particular, German and other EU businessmen have observed positive trends in Russia’s investment policy, Shuvalov said. At the same time, this is obvious only to those who have long worked in Russia, while those who only plan to come here talk more about problems, he said.

Investment policy problems are not only in the Russian government’s focus but are also closely addressed by the executive committee for foreign investment, Shuvalov said. He pointed out that this credible body has long established itself as an efficient forum for forming an investment policy.

The executive committee is detecting problems and decides how to resolve them, and it is important that this credible forum of foreign investors raises the same issues that Russian businessmen do before the government, Shuvalov said.

This interaction between interests of foreign and domestic business communities gives grounds to be optimistic and expect more foreign investors, he said.