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Investments in St Petersburg’s economy exceed 6 bln drls 2011

The role of the automobile cluster in the city’s economy continued to grow

ST PETERSBURG, February 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Foreign investments in St. Petersburg’s economy grew by 17 percent to have exceeded 6.1 billion dollars, the city government’s committee on investments and strategic urban construction projects said.

In 2011 direct foreign investments doubled to have reached about 1.1 billion dollars, whereas in 2010 they were at about 540 million dollars. The committee said that the share of direct investments in the overall amount of foreign investments exceeded 17 percent, going up by 8 percent in contrast to the previous year.

The deputy head of the investments and strategic projects committee, Irina Babyuk, believes that “the steady growth of direct investments in the economy of St. Petersburg indicates the certainty of foreign investments about the stability and prospects of the market’s development.”

The role of the automobile cluster in the city’s economy continued to grow. At the end of 2011 the share of foreign investments in the production of motor vehicles in the overall amount of foreign capital investments reached 22.7 percent, or 1.4 billion dollars.

The largest foreign investor was Britain, which accounts for 17 percent of the overall investments in St. Petersburg’s economy. In the top three investor-countries are Korea (9.5 percent) and Cyprus (about 9 percent). The indisputable leader in terms of direct foreign investments is China, which injected 345 million dollars in St. Petersburg’s economy last year.

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