H1 foreign investments in Russian metal industry soar

Over the first six months of 2003, the volume of foreign investments in the metal industry totaled $1.9bn, up 90.9 percent against the same period of 2002, according to the center for macroeconomic research of BDO UniconRuf. Foreign investments in this sector have been constantly growing since 2000.

In the reported period, foreign investments in non-ferrous metal industry amounted to $1.2bn, up 130 percent against the corresponding period of 2002. Foreign investments in ferrous metal industry have been growing at a lower pace, and surged by 47.1 percent in the first half of 2003.

The bulk of foreign investments in this sector of the Russian economy has been coming from so-called off-shore areas.