In a last-ditch attempt to convince investors of his liberal side ahead of next month's presidential election, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he would push for Russia to rise to 20th place from the current 120th in a World Bank index that rates countries' investment attractiveness and some industry experts believe he may pull it off.
Speaking to an audience of several hundred businesspeople and foreign investors at the Troika Dialog investment forum in Moscow, Putin said he would liberalize Russia's economy by reducing bureaucracy and speeding up tax and financial transactions procedures.
"We have made it our aim to get a place in the ranks of countries with the most attractive investment climates within the next several years...We need to take 100 steps forward and raise our ranking from 120th to 20th place," Putin said.
Although Putin gave little indication of how such an ambitious project might be achieved, he did put some numbers into his suggestions, specifying that he wanted to speed up transport efficiency by a factor of seven, reduce the time it takes to acquire an asset by a factor of five and reduce the time it takes to file a tax return by a factor of three.
The PM's comments at the forum follow similar economic plans outlined in an article published by Putin in the Vedomosti business daily on Monday in which he vowed to build a "new economy" to combat the various ills putting a strain on Russia's economy, such as a high level of corruption as well as too much dependence on energy exports.
Investors at the event were optimistic about Putin's ability to liberalize the economy. "There are lots of issues here and many barriers to investment. But we have seen at this forum that there is a strong will to change," said Steve Gidley, Manager of Corporate and Commercial Services at Viberts Jersey Lawyers. "The current political instability is an issue that only Putin can address. I think he is a good man for the job [of president]."
VTB buyback
Putin also announced that Russia was ready to allocate resources to buy back shares in VTB bank, Russia's second largest lender, from minority shareholders who bought the stock in 2007.
"I want citizens to know that we will do everything so there will not be any losses. We are ready to allocate the necessary resources," Putin said. "I can ask the leadership of the bank to study the issue of buying back shares from minority shareholders so there will be no losses."
VTB's shares on Russia's Micex stock exchange jumped 3% on the news.
No place for politics
The March 4 presidential election, at which Putin is the leading candidate, was barely mentioned at the plenary session of the forum, which is widely regarded as the most important event of Russia's financial calendar. Nor did the political unrest that has sparked a series of anti-government protests in the country during the past few months get much play.
Both factors are widely believed to have fuelled Putin's calls for reform and liberalization, which many critics have discarded as empty promises.
"Putin's article in Vedomosti this week talks of many of the problems affecting Russia's investment climate ...but we have seen very few concrete steps taken to solve them. The privatizations the government promised for one have not gone ahead," said Sergei Guriyev, rector of Russia's New Economic School at a plenary session at the Troika forum earlier on Thursday.
The discussion at the earlier plenary session about the major problems faced by the Russian economy echoed many of the issues raised at a breakfast discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week.
The raft of leading public figures there outlined corruption, government intervention in the economy and an outdated political system as Russia's main challenges.
Alexei Kudrin, Russia's former finance minister and a popular figure among foreign investors, was more optimistic than Guriyev about Putin's liberalization attempts, describing them as "clear steps" to reform the "stagnant political system."
While many observers believe Kudrin is taking such an opportunistic stance to hedge his bets ahead of a potential return to Russia's leading ranks, Kudrin told journalists on Thursday that he has no plans to join Putin's cabinet if the current prime minister wins the presidential elections next month.
"Putin and I have both made it clear that I will not be joining the government. I have no intentions [to do so]," RIA Novosti quoted Kudrin as saying.
Keywords: Russia, Economy, Business, Investment - Russia News - Russia
In a last-ditch attempt to convince investors of his liberal side ahead of next month's presidential election, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he would push for Russia to rise to 20th place from the current 120th in a World Bank index that rates countries' investment attractiveness and some industry experts believe he may pull it off.
Speaking to an audience of several hundred businesspeople and foreign investors at the Troika Dialog investment forum in Moscow, Putin said he would liberalize Russia's economy by reducing bureaucracy and speeding up tax and financial transactions procedures.
"We have made it our aim to get a place in the ranks of countries with the most attractive investment climates within the next several years...We need to take 100 steps forward and raise our ranking from 120th to 20th place," Putin said.
Although Putin gave little indication of how such an ambitious project might be achieved, he did put some numbers into his suggestions, specifying that he wanted to speed up transport efficiency by a factor of seven, reduce the time it takes to acquire an asset by a factor of five and reduce the time it takes to file a tax return by a factor of three.
The PM's comments at the forum follow similar economic plans outlined in an article published by Putin in the Vedomosti business daily on Monday in which he vowed to build a "new economy" to combat the various ills putting a strain on Russia's economy, such as a high level of corruption as well as too much dependence on energy exports.
Investors at the event were optimistic about Putin's ability to liberalize the economy. "There are lots of issues here and many barriers to investment. But we have seen at this forum that there is a strong will to change," said Steve Gidley, Manager of Corporate and Commercial Services at Viberts Jersey Lawyers. "The current political instability is an issue that only Putin can address. I think he is a good man for the job [of president]."
VTB buyback
Putin also announced that Russia was ready to allocate resources to buy back shares in VTB bank, Russia's second largest lender, from minority shareholders who bought the stock in 2007.
"I want citizens to know that we will do everything so there will not be any losses. We are ready to allocate the necessary resources," Putin said. "I can ask the leadership of the bank to study the issue of buying back shares from minority shareholders so there will be no losses."
VTB's shares on Russia's Micex stock exchange jumped 3% on the news.
No place for politics
The March 4 presidential election, at which Putin is the leading candidate, was barely mentioned at the plenary session of the forum, which is widely regarded as the most important event of Russia's financial calendar. Nor did the political unrest that has sparked a series of anti-government protests in the country during the past few months get much play.
Both factors are widely believed to have fuelled Putin's calls for reform and liberalization, which many critics have discarded as empty promises.
"Putin's article in Vedomosti this week talks of many of the problems affecting Russia's investment climate ...but we have seen very few concrete steps taken to solve them. The privatizations the government promised for one have not gone ahead," said Sergei Guriyev, rector of Russia's New Economic School at a plenary session at the Troika forum earlier on Thursday.
The discussion at the earlier plenary session about the major problems faced by the Russian economy echoed many of the issues raised at a breakfast discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week.
The raft of leading public figures there outlined corruption, government intervention in the economy and an outdated political system as Russia's main challenges.
Alexei Kudrin, Russia's former finance minister and a popular figure among foreign investors, was more optimistic than Guriyev about Putin's liberalization attempts, describing them as "clear steps" to reform the "stagnant political system."
While many observers believe Kudrin is taking such an opportunistic stance to hedge his bets ahead of a potential return to Russia's leading ranks, Kudrin told journalists on Thursday that he has no plans to join Putin's cabinet if the current prime minister wins the presidential elections next month.
"Putin and I have both made it clear that I will not be joining the government. I have no intentions [to do so]," RIA Novosti quoted Kudrin as saying.