Russian IT exports may surge

RBC, 18.04.2005, Moscow 17:59:12. Russia's IT industry may increase its export revenues tenfold by 2010, unless the country remains at the stage of a "workshop" as India and China. As Russian communications and information technologies minister Leonid Reyman declared at a meeting with Moscow regional government, Russia's IT industry grows more than 20 percent a year, twice as fast as other countries. This market's sales are expected to reach $40bn by 2010. Revenue of IT companies totaled a little less than $10bn in 2004. Revenue from exporting IT solutions amounted to approximately $800m last year, and this figure may surge to $10bn, or 7 percent of the world's outsourcing, by 2010. Although the IT industry's exports doubled in 2004 compared to 2003, this figure is still very low compared to Indian $15bn. The ministry believes that in order to fulfill these tasks, it is necessary to lift excessive administrative barriers, to ensure optimal tax procedures and to develop education and science.