OLGA IZRYADNOVA IDENTIFIED ONE INDUSTRY IN RUSSIA WITH AN ‘ALARMINGLY LOW’ INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

In Russia, investment activity in the chemical and petrochemical industrial complex has remained alarmingly low. This is what Оlga Izryadnova, Head of the Gaidar Institute’s Structural Policy Department, said in her interview with the news agency REGNUM. She believes that the Russian economy has been recovering at a rather dynamic pace, which is confirmed by the international credit rating agencies.

“A positive factor has also been the increasing share of investment in information, computer and telecommunication equipment and intellectual property. The development of housing construction and amenities sectors, as stated in the government documents and programs, has been determined by the priority goals – improving the quality of life and the modernization of the social sphere and economic spheres. As far as manufacturing industries are concerned, in Q1 2021 the leading position was retained by production of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, which displayed a growth rate of 170.5% on the previous year."

She also noted that the continued growth of investment in fixed assets in the metallurgical complex was sustained by the increasing demand for its finished product in the domestic and foreign markets.

“The demand for equipment and machinery recovered simultaneously with the growth of 18.6% in investment in fixed assets in the machine-building complex, which significantly rose above the level of Q1 2020,” she added. “Investment in fixed assets in the consumer sector increased by 3.7%, alongside an accelerated investment demand growth in the textiles and clothing sector. However, the low investment activity in the chemical and petrochemical complex remains an alarming phenomenon, especially in view of the higher requirements for the environmental safety of these types of economic activity”.