ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. Half of Russian entrepreneurs (54% of respondents) are going to expand their business in the coming year, Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President and Chairman of the Board of VTB, told reporters at SPIEF.
The largest share of such companies is concentrated in the sectors of consumer goods production, industry, energy and agriculture, he added.
According to the results of a survey conducted by VTB, in half of the cases, entrepreneurs plan to develop their business by increasing sales and production, both using borrowed funds and their own funds, Bortnikov said.
Every fourth company that is ready to expand plans to enter new markets and considers markets of China, the UAE and neighboring countries. Trade and retail enterprises are considering entering marketplaces as new markets.
However, every fourth company surveyed by VTB is happy with the current state of its business and does not plan to expand in the near future, he noted.
As for VTB itself, the bank expects to attract 1.5 times more clients among medium and small businesses by the end of 2026, Bortnikov said.
As the VTB press service clarified, the survey among entrepreneurs was conducted in May 2024 in Russian cities with a population of more than 100,000 people. The topic of the study was the interest of entrepreneurs in instruments of financial and non-financial support, as well as business development plans for the coming year.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.