Foreign Investors Like Russia's R&D Sector
Dec 09, 2005
MOSCOW, December 9, RIA Novosti. A.T. Kearney's Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index assigned Russia sixth place for the first time. The survey's authors believe that Russia owes this success to its growing R&D sector. But Russian experts say that foreign companies are often misled about the national situation.
Investors have merely reassessed their risks, said Eki-Invest analyst Ivan Yermilov. Russian assets are becoming more expensive because of the favorable oil price situation. This is why foreign investors are quite eager to operate in the local market. "One does not need an economic degree to see that Russia's processing industry is notorious for its low labor productivity. The industrial world has outpaced Russia by 30%-40% in this respect," Yermilov added.
Other experts note that foreign agency ratings of Gazprom's Eurobonds sometimes exceed Russian sovereign ratings. Still this is absolutely impossible because the gas monopoly is controlled by the state.
Nevertheless, the latest A.T. Kearney survey implies that investors like Russia for its successful performance in the R&D sphere. Experts claim that the economy should continue to develop in this direction. "Russia is not India, which is a target for outsourcing. Consequently, we must channel all our resources into the high-tech sector and try and catch up with Southeast Asia, to say the least," Yermilov said.
Investors have merely reassessed their risks, said Eki-Invest analyst Ivan Yermilov. Russian assets are becoming more expensive because of the favorable oil price situation. This is why foreign investors are quite eager to operate in the local market. "One does not need an economic degree to see that Russia's processing industry is notorious for its low labor productivity. The industrial world has outpaced Russia by 30%-40% in this respect," Yermilov added.
Other experts note that foreign agency ratings of Gazprom's Eurobonds sometimes exceed Russian sovereign ratings. Still this is absolutely impossible because the gas monopoly is controlled by the state.
Nevertheless, the latest A.T. Kearney survey implies that investors like Russia for its successful performance in the R&D sphere. Experts claim that the economy should continue to develop in this direction. "Russia is not India, which is a target for outsourcing. Consequently, we must channel all our resources into the high-tech sector and try and catch up with Southeast Asia, to say the least," Yermilov said.