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Moscow and Sakhalin most attractive to foreign investors

More than half of all Russian regions (44 subjects from 80 under review) have “an average” investment attractiveness level

Moscow still attracts a considerable portion of direct foreign investment that is made in the Russian economy, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily writes.

Experts of the National Rating Agency (NRA) have worked out a rating of investment attractiveness of territories in which they have found out what goes to other regions and why investors come to or ignore that or other regions.

Moscow and the Sakhalin region are leading in the rating. Russia's capital has once again confirmed its role of the country’s economic centre. Moscow is leading in such parameters as the infrastructure development level and domestic market volume. Moscow also shares with St. Petersburg the first place in terms of the volume of quality of workforce.

As for the Sakhalin region, its high rating is caused first of all by the presence of rich natural resources. The Sakhalin region is among the best regions regarding the regional demand indicators, labor productivity and cost effectiveness of companies. A big volume of tax proceeds from mineral extraction companies also allows the region to maintain high stability of its budget.

St. Petersburg and the Moscow region top the rating owing to the available qualified workforce, developed infrastructure, the presence of effective demand, as well as rather high financial stability both of the regional budgets and companies operating in the region. The Tyumen region is the leader in the mineral reserves volume.

In terms of workforce, the domestic demand potential and financial stability the Tyumen region is also among the country’s top ten regions. The Tatarstan Republic is practically a unique example of an advantageous combination of all the investment attractiveness factors.

A high rating of the Belgorod region shows that oil and natural gas are not the only type of natural resources on which regional well-being may be based. The region that has rich iron ore deposits and a developed metallurgical industry, recently has been more actively using another competitive advantage - its fertile soils. As a result, agriculture and the food industry have become the real drivers of growth for the regional economy and one of the most attractive investment destinations.

More than half of all Russian regions (44 subjects from 80 under review) have “an average” investment attractiveness level.

The situation with investment attractiveness of the regions that are below the Russian average level in most indicators is rather complicated. These are the North Caucasus republics, Kalmyria and Tyva. They need to develop infrastructure (including transport) and improve workforce skills.

Itar-Tass is not responsible for the material quoted in these press reviews

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