LONDON, February 20 (Itar-Tass) – The Moscow city authorities will spare no effort to develop the sphere of education in the city to help it become a global financial centre. It is planned to spend more than 3.5 billion U.S. dollars on these purposes in the next two years alone, a Moscow city government official said here on Tuesday.
“Currently, Moscow is living through the process of adjusting the city’s system of educations,” Sergei Cheremin, a Moscow city government minister and head of the international ties department said after the presentation of the Destination Moscow Roadshow 2013. “More than 3.5 billion U.S. dollars will be allocated in the next two years to develop this sphere.” The money, in his words, will go to buy equipment and software, to create new jobs and increase wages.
These measures will help raise the educational and qualification level of future specialists in the city, where each fifth resident already now has a higher education diploma, he noted. The authorities support to the sphere of education, plus support to small- and medium-sized businesses and easier administrative procedures “will attract foreign investors,” which will help make Moscow an international financial centre.
“Sure, already now we are able – although not quite as an equal – to compete with other financial centres,” Cheremin told Itar-Tass. “In this context, favorable factors are the stability of the Russian currency unit, and the policy of the authorities stimulating more active operations, including stock floatation, in Russia.”
“Some time ago, when the Russian financial market’s liquidity was law, it was hardly ever imaginable. Thus, a big company could not undertake an IPO (initial public offering) on the Russian market alone: that is why many of them opted for the New York stock exchange, Hong Kong, Singapore or London,” he noted. “Nonetheless, it is an evolutionary process, and now the situation has changed.”
“That is why I believe that Moscow has all the chances to become a global financial centre,” he concluded.
The forum, supported by the Moscow city government, was held in a hotel in downtown London. It was opened with a presentation of the Russian capital city. Cheremin spoke about measures taken by the city authorities to attract more foreign investments and their plans for the future. Among other speakers were chairman of the board of the Bank of Moscow Mikhail Kuzovlev, chairman of the board of the Russian-British Chamber of Commerce Roger Munnings, senior adviser of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Richard Ogdon. They spoke about the current and future possibilities of economic cooperation between Moscow and London and the development of the business infrastructure in the Russian capital city. Apart from that, they touched upon the state of and prospects for the Russian economy in general and called on British businessmen not to be afraid to start business in Russia.
London was the first destination of the Russian delegation touring world financial centres. The Destination Moscow Roadshow 2013 program will be shown in Frankfurt on February 27. Later, similar presentations will be held in Singapore, Tokyo, New York and Boston.