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Investment Activity in Regions Unpredictable
Rosstat published data yesterday investment in fixed capital in Russia in 2006, which grew 13.7 percent but showed rather unusual regional distribution. The highest investment growth rates were in the regions with the lowest levels of development, but the highest industrial growth rates were found in a number of cases in regions with low or negative investment growth. Economists see onetime projects and budgetary investment behind the odd indicators.
The new Rosstat data show that differences between individual regions remain great and unpredictable. Thus, while investment in fixed capital averaged 13.7-percent growth for the country, it fell by 2.8 percent in the Far Eastern Federal District, and grew by 16.5 percent in the Northwest Federal District. Differences in industrial production were only a little less marked, ranging from 13.1 percent in the Central Federal District to 3 percent in the Far East, for a national average of 3.9 percent.
The highest investment growth (over 50 percent) took place in the Republic of Khakasia, Arkhangelsk and Tomsk Regions and the Nenets, Aginsky Buryat and Koryak Autonomous Areas. These areas, which have very low levels of development, received investment from the federal budget. In 19 regions, investment was lower in 2006 than in 2005. Kaliningrad Region was among those areas, but its industrial growth (68.2 percent) was the highest in Russia and the growth in personal incomes there (23.4 percent) was among the highest (the national average was 12.5 percent).
Economists point out that statistics from a single year show little and that growth rates depend heavily on the level at which they begin – the 53-percent investment growth in the Koryak Autonomous Area was due to the construction of four heating plants, financed by the federal budget after an energy crisis in the area.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 13, 2007
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