Moscow Region presents its investment potential in New Delhi
On November 12-14, representatives of the Indian business community had a chance to learn about doing business in Russia firsthand.
At the initiative of Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov, the delegation of Moscow Region visited New Delhi to present business and investment opportunities available in the region and expand cooperation with Indian partners.
According to the Head of the delegation, Deputy Chairman of the Government of Moscow Region Vadim Khromov, Indian business is already present in Moscow Region.
“More than 10 projects have already been implemented, and we see that our Indian colleagues, who’ve started to develop their business, continue to do this progressively,” he says. “We are interested in continuing our cooperation and, within the framework of the program for expanding cooperation with India, Russia-India, to attract new investors to important industries in Moscow Region that require investments.”
Among these sectors he named the production of automotive components, pharmaceutical products, substances for the production of medicines and other medium and small-tonnage chemistry products.
During a series of business events in the Indian capital, Moscow Region delegation met with representatives of Indian business, the Government of New Delhi, and the Confederation of Indian Industry. On November 14, Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev, Russian Trade Commissioner Yaroslav Tarasyuk, and representatives of Moscow Region delegation spoke to Indian guests, presenting what the region has to offer.
Why Moscow Region?
With 25 million people living here, the region accounts for a third of Russia’s consumer market and 25 percent of Russia’s total GDP, which also contributes to it being one of the most dynamically growing regions in Russia.
“The trade turnover of Moscow Region with India has grown by 30 percent over the last three years and amounted to almost $857 million in 2018. The growth of industrial production of Moscow Region grew by 12.3 percent in 2019, thus boosting the economic potential in this part of Russia,” noted Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev.
In addition, close proximity to Moscow and diverse transport infrastructure, with four international airports, makes it easy to transport products within and from the region. And the unique human resource potential with science hubs, universities, and colleges located here makes it a great source for qualified and educated personnel. What’s more, the regional government offers to train the necessary specialists for free if needed for the new venture, and even take care of all the supporting infrastructure (like electricity, water, and gas), to ease the process for the investor.
Finally, to top it all off, Moscow Region government developed a unique regional scheme of project support. According to Vadim Khromov, the government created an intergovernmental center that allows prospective investors to get all necessary support in one place: from finding a land site for a future plant to receiving all necessary documentation and state approvals. “This allows to ensure the shortest time frame possible to launch a factory,” said Deputy Chairman of the Government of Moscow Region. “We compared our system with that in Western Europe, and ours is easier.”
Mercedes-Benz, Henkel, Ikea, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Barilla are among over 400 major foreign companies that have localized production in the Moscow Region
Indian companies already there
Among the joint Russian-Indian ventures in Moscow Region is UFlex Group, a bio-packaging plant, which is currently under construction in the Moscow Region. With a total investment of over 5 billion rubles ($78.1 million), the future plant is going to give jobs to 150 people following its launch in February 2020.
Another Indian player is Rus BioPharm BioPharmaceutical Company with a manufacturing facility in the Special Economic Zone of Dubna City. The medicine manufacturer from India has been working in Russia since 1997 and in 2014 registered its Russian branch “PSK Pharma”, investing 2.3 billion rubles ($35.9 million in localizing production in the Moscow Region.
Satya Karm Punia, President of Rus BioPharm Group, attended Moscow Region roadshow in New Delhi and shared his experience with fellow Indian investors. As he said, the experience of his company in Russia has been very positive, noting the close proximity to Moscow, good infrastructure, and qualified personnel as the main advantages of the region.
“I think such kind of conferences are required more, so that both countries get information about each other firsthand,” he said in New Delhi. “There is generally wrong information about Russia with Indian investors: about safety and security, about the weather. Such kinds of dialogues are required so that the information is conveyed from the Russian authorities to their Indian counterparts and vice versa.”