LONDON, February 8 (Itar-Tass) — The British side is making significant contributions to the creation of an international financial centre (IFC) in the Russian capital, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Vnesheconombank (VEB) Sergei Lykov said on Tuesday at the London financial service conference City Week 2012.
“We see that the British side is interested in the development of the IFC in Moscow and makes a significant contribution to this,” Lykov said. He informed the conference participants about the work of the bilateral consultative group that is supervised by the Russian and British co-chairs - head of the Working Group on the IFC creation under the Russian Presidential Council on Financial Markets Development Alexander Voloshin and Lord Mayor of the City of London David Wootton.
“It is obvious that in the next 5-10 years Moscow will not become a global-level IFC such as New York, London or Hong Kong. Therefore, at present we are rather talking about creating a regional-scale financial centre in Moscow, for example, within the framework of the CIS or BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China),” said Lykov who is a member of the British-Russian Working Group working on the creation of the IFC in Moscow.
“Naturally, our strategic objective - is to create not a regional (but a global) financial centre, but so far it is impossible to set long-term tasks,” he said. “In any case, a trading floor, which is attractive in terms of investment and that will ensure a favourable business environment for foreign investors, could be interesting for all.”
“We see the largest IFCs as partners in the development of the global financial infrastructure. Russia needs a world-class financial system, and the adoption of international experience will help us achieve this goal,” Lykov said. “The advisory assistance is provided by professionals from such financial centres as London, Frankfurt-am-Main, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong,” he pointed out.
According to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Manfred Schepers, the “logic of Moscow as an IFC... is similar to what we have observed in other economies that have experienced a period of transition in recent decades, whether it be Japan or China, Brazil and South Africa.” “In many respects, Russia has a somewhat more unique position, in our view,” he added.
“If we look at the role of the Brazilian market in South America, to a certain extent, it does not have those regional opportunities that Russia has,” Schepers said. “It is partly geography, partly - trade, as well as history, from the viewpoint of relations with the CIS countries, and the like.”