A Russia investor's wish list for 2014 | Russia Beyond The Headlines

A Russia investor's wish list for 2014 | Russia Beyond The Headlines:



"Russia suffered a poor economic performance in 2013 and the government is desperate to avoid a repeat in 2014. Realizing the goal of returning growth back towards the 3% level will require fiscal and monetary policy changes and faster progress with the reform agenda. With that in mind, an investor’s wish list from the government for 2014 would include:



• Greater efficiency in budget spending, and a shift of resources towards growth-boosting projects and away from nonproductive areas such as defense spending;



• The initiation of cuts to the Central Bank’s benchmark interest rate, and a big cut in the commercial bank’s average lending rate to small businesses;



• An increase in infrastructure spending;



• Greater determination to meet OECD membership conditions, which means improving investors’ perception of Russia, of risk and of the business environment;



• An improvement in corporate governance, especially among state-run companies."



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