RE: Lenta article - The Russian authorities began to look for ways to attract foreign money10 Jan 2023 09:14
There's many issues with the article though.
The Russian government and the Bank of Russia are working on a strategy to develop the country's financial market until 2030. The strategy aims to attract foreign investors, particularly from friendly countries, to become prominent players in the market. However, there is a lack of information about the specific measures that the government and the Bank of Russia are considering to achieve this goal. It is reported that the government is discussing ideas with market participants, however, it is not specified what these ideas are.
One of the key objectives of the strategy is to increase the volume of investment in fixed assets from 23 trillion rubles in 2021 to 43 trillion rubles in 2030. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to change the structure of investment sources and to increase the share of the stock market. The Ministry of Finance aims to increase the share of the stock market from 5% to 11% in the same period. However, it is not clear how the government plans to achieve this target. The statement suggests focusing on the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), China, India, the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and Latin America to attract foreign investment.
The Russian market faces several challenges, such as low liquidity and sanctions problems for domestic financial organizations. As noted by Evgeny Mironyuk, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments, the main problem in attracting foreign investment is low liquidity of the Russian market and the potential negative impact of sanctions. The Russian authorities will have to reassure non-residents that they will not be affected by secondary sanctions. However, it is not specified how the government plans to address these issues.
Moreover, Stanislav Pis'ny, Director of Corporate Ratings at the NRA rating service, points out that the outflow of Western investors from the Russian market led to a decrease in trading volumes by more than two times. In his opinion, to attract other foreign participants, Russia should undertake significant reforms, such as benefits for long-term investments, increasing the level of asset protection, and increasing information openness. However, these ideas are not specified in the statement either.
In summary, the strategy for the development of the Russian financial market until 2030 aims to attract foreign investors, particularly from friendly countries, to become prominent players in the market. However, there is a lack of information about the specific measures that the government and the Bank of Russia are considering to achieve this goal. Furthermore, the statement does not explain how the government plans to increase the volume of investment in fixed assets, and the share of the stock market, and how to overcome the challenges like low liquidity and sanctions. It is suggested that more detailed explanation and estimation should be included in the strategy.