Finance Ministry posts Russia's need for investments

Russia's annual need for investments amounts to $100bn to $150bn, Deputy Finance Minister of Russia Andrey Petrov reported at the conference "Business Services in Russia of the 21st Century - the Investment Russia" today. He pointed out that tax reforms played an important role in attracting investments. "In 1999-2000, the tax burden was 32 to 34 percent of the GDP; in 2003, it will amount to 30.7 percent of the GDP, which does not exceed the average levels of the tax burden in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states", the Deputy Minister stressed.

Petrov also pointed to the importance of balanced surplus-oriented budget policies of the state in attracting investments. "It is these policies, which allow for creating investors' trust in the country," he said. The Deputy Finance Minister mentioned that since 2001, the main kind of state support had been reimbursement of a part of the expenditures for paying the interest on credits to the majority of industries. Until 2002, such subsidizing of interest rates was executed for a three-year term; the 2003 budget draft stipulates a five-year term.