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Large businesses show interest in Russia's Kaliningrad offshore zone

In May, Dmitry Medvedev said that the Russian government intends to create territories with the special legal regime in the Far East and Oktyabrsky Island in the Kaliningrad region

© Vitaliy Nevar/TASS

KALININGRAD, June 1. /TASS/. The big business is interested in the prospects of creating a territory with a special legal regime in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Deputy Chairman of the regional government Alexander Shenderuk-Zhidkov told TASS.

The Kaliningrad region is Russia’s enclave on the Baltic Sea, the country’s is westernmost area.

"If we talk about specific companies, it's too early to mention any names, but I can say that at the last St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, representatives of largest Russian businesses often asked the governor [Anton Alikhanov] about the entry of the law on special administrative areas coming into force, there is a serious interest," the deputy chairman of the regional government said.

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He noted that the region expects the law to come into force on January 1, 2019.

"For us it would be perfect, if the law is submitted to the State Duma (lower house of parliament -TASS) and adopted in the spring session. If it is possible, of course, but we hope that the law will enter into force no later than January 1, 2019," he said.

The official said that the regional authorities actively support the initiative.

"In our opinion, this is a historical event that can lead to reformatting the economy of the Kaliningrad region and give it a significant competitive advantage by attracting financial capital, which in turn should boost construction, hotel sector, services," he said.

Also the establishment of such special administrative zones is a "serious legal novelty" that will enable Kaliningrad and Vladivostok (Russia’s Far East region) to test the latest legal techniques in order to use them in the country in the future.

On Friday, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said that a number of large Russian holdings expressed interest in re-registration in special administrative regions, which are will be created after the fashion of foreign offshore zones.

Russian offshores

In May, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the Russian government intends to create territories with the special legal regime in the Russky Island in the Far East and Oktyabrsky Island in the Kaliningrad region.

Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said in May that a special administrative regime in those islands will resemble the one in the State of Delaware, the offshore zone in the United States.

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