Russia and China Make Investment Promises
Friendship of Nations
Russian and Chinese companies hope to carry out eight investment projects worth $800 million, the businessmen said at the 3rd Russian-Chinese Investment Forum in Beijing Thursday. Previous experiences show, however, that most of these projects are more likely to remain mere plans.
The 3rd Russian-Chinese Investment Forum has closed the Year of Russia in China. Russia’s Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref called it “the most important event of the business year” of 2006.
Chinese and Russian enterprises announced plans to carry out mutual investment projects worth $800 billion. To compare, China has so far invested in Russia $1.5 billion, according to the Economic Development and Trade Ministry. China’s Great Wall motor corporation and Tatarstan’s government are to set up an assemblage production of cars in the industrial zone of Elabuga. The partners, however, will have to file to the Russian Economic Development Ministry for obtaining a regime of industrial assemblage and the resident status with the Federal Agency on Special Economic Zones, Svetlana Ganeeva, head of the ministry’s investment policy department, reported. In addition, Russia’s Vneshekonombank announced at the forum the opening of the $500 million second back-up line at China’s State Development Bank. The money and another $500 million acquired last year will be used to finance Russia’s hi-tech projects, Vladimir Dmitriev, chairperson of the Vneshekonombank, said. On another note, state-owned Rosneft and OPORA of Russia announced opening their offices in Beijing.
Russian and Chinese companies initiated first investment projects at the first and second forum. The first one was held in Khabarovsk in 2004 and the second one took place in Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg in 2005. They brought about 19 2.2 billion-worth projects of investment cooperation, according to Minister Gref. In reality, only $200 million has been invested so far.
Only five out of 13 investment projects between Russian and Chinese companies from the first forum are now being implemented, Khabarovsk Region Governor Viktor Ishaev says. The volume of the investment is 5 percent of the declared sum. Khabarovsk’s governor also said that Chinese investors hoped to gain “an exclusive access to financial and energy resources”. They were also unhappy about Russian environmental regulations, quite rough design estimates, license issuing procedures and high criminal risks. German Gref would not challenge the governor’s remarks but told Kommersant he shared the opinion. The minister promised to give his personal control to the implementation of the projects that Russian and Chinese investors announced at the 3rd investment forum.
China is more interested in creating joint processing productions than Russia. Chinese companies consider Russia a major market here. In 2005, for example, oil accounted for 50 percent of Russian exports to China, nonferrous metals accrued to 11 percent and unprocessed timber for – 11.3 percent. Export of Chinese cars and equipment to Russia grew 70 percent in 2005 while Russian exports to China fell 2.2 percent. Expansion of Chinese processed goods on the Russian market is going to be rising. “The Chinese government is actively implementing the strategy of reviving the industrial base of the North West of the country,” says Li Zhanshu, deputy secretary of CPC of the Heilongjiang province, adjacent to Russia.” “Four industrial bases are under construction now to organize exports to Russia. 62 sq. km of land has been allocated to host 260 enterprises.”
Alexey Shapovalov from Beijing
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 10, 2006
|
