Moscow at the Annual Investment Summit 2024 in the UAE
Sergey Cheremin, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow, inaugurated the stand of the Russian capital at the 13th Annual Investment Forum “AIM Congress 2024” in Abu Dhabi. This year, the companies “Sber-City”, “Sitronics”, “Vision Labs” and “Constructor” became co-exhibitors of the stand.
The organizers of the Moscow stand were the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow and the ANO Moscow Center for International Cooperation.
During the presentation session, the head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow spoke about the investment climate in Moscow and the pace of development of the Russian capital in the new economic and political realities.
“Today, Moscow’s investment potential is at a very high level. A large number of different investment projects make it possible to develop the city’s infrastructure, as well as create new jobs. Favorable business conditions are being created in Moscow not only for Russian companies, but also for foreign investors. To date, more than $250 billion of foreign direct investment has been attracted to the capital of the Russian Federation. For the last 5 years, Moscow has been a leader in the National Rating in the field of investment climate. Sustainable development is an important part of our economic policy,” said Sergey Cheremin.
During speech, he also noted that Moscow’s economy is characterized by a highly socially oriented approach. The main goal is to use the city’s resources as efficiently as possible without causing significant harm to the environment, as well as to constantly improve the quality of life of people living in the capital. Today, Moscow is one of several megacities in the world that uses a wide range of management tools to achieve sustainable development goals. The Moscow government has issued green bonds to strengthen the financing of environmental initiatives.
Moscow has developed a number of competitive advantages for international investors. One of them is that the capital serves as a kind of “entry point” to the market of Russia and the CIS countries. In addition, investors get access to highly qualified personnel, as the city has a significant educational and scientific potential.
Sergey Cheremin also told the participants of the AIM Congress 2024 about the wide transport infrastructure, high-quality healthcare and education, the high level of development of the urban environment, information and communication technologies. According to the extracts of his speech, all of this makes the capital an extremely attractive place for foreign investors. The growth of investment activity in Moscow is also associated with a wide range of measures to support investors. In 2023, more than 900 companies moved into the category of large business. This is 25% more than in 2022. The city continues to support small and medium-sized enterprises. There are a number of tax preferences for them, such as a reduction in income tax for new companies, which helps to increase their production potential. In addition, Moscow applies a preferential property tax for companies that introduce innovative technologies or improve their equipment. Not only tax preferences are available to investors, but also various preferential loans.
Sergey Cheremin also took part in a ministerial round table on the topic “Preparing for an economic slowdown: hidden investment opportunities”. He said that, since 2010, Moscow has reduced the share of oil and gas revenues in the city budget to 5%, thanks to investments in the development of the high-tech sector of the economy, as well as investments in small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2023, Moscow attracted investments worth more than $80 billion, 70% of which are private investments. The city has virtually zero public debt. Every year, the Moscow Government invests more than $50 billion in various sectors of the capital’s economy.
