Putin pledges to improve Russia's investment environment

The Russian government will continue to adopt measures to better investment environment, said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Monday.

At the annual plenary session of the Consultative Council on Foreign Investments, Putin said the Russian government is cracking down on bureaucracy and would delegate part of its permission and licensing functions to relevant organizations.

The Russian head of government also promised more input into the infrastructure construction, the imperfection of which is said to be one of the major obstacles for foreign companies to expand their operation in Russia.

Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina told reporters after the session that the government will study issues such as simplifying procedures for examining and approving foreign investment projects.

She said the simplification of such procedures is "crucially important" for Russia to compete among global capital market and attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

The FDI in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country.

Founded in September 1994, the Consultative Council on Foreign Investments aimed to implement and coordinate Russian national policies for attracting foreign investments.

The council, directly headed by Russian prime minister, currently groups 36 foreign companies and organizations as members and observers including Siemens, Ernst & Young and Procter & Gamble.

Figures from Russia's Federal State Statistics showed that in the first half of this year, Russia has drawn 32.163 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment, down 30.9 percent year on year. The FDI of 6.09 billion dollars also declined 45 percent.

Source: Xinhua