Main page > Investment opportunities and economic information > Investment > Investor Handbook > Press Information on Regional Investment EXPERT OPINIONS ON INVESTEMENT IN THE LENINGRAD REGION
"The Leningrad Region has achieved a great success due to the growth of its innovative, productive, and infrastructure potential.
...The economic risks have gone down to their lowest in the Leningrad Region. The share of unprofitable enterprises has reduced by 5 percentage points, whereas the national average is an 11.5 point increase. The capital assets in the region are currently being updated intensively, whereas the national trend is an increase in the wearing -- out of assets. The reason for this is that the region is doing a good job of attracting both Russian and foreign investments. In 1998, several new joint ventures were opened in the region...
...1999 has become a beneficial year for investments within the Leningrad Region. It has increased its investment potential greatly, and reduced the risk to a significant extent. The result is a substantial increase of Russian and foreign investments."
Expert magazine, issue 39, October 18, 1999
"The situation in the Leningrad Region is more advantageous than in St. Petersburg, as the entire investment process in the region is stated in normative acts."
Delovoi Peterburg, issue 6, January 26, 2000
"The tax privileges, which the regional government has granted, have determined the decision to open a new production line."
G. Goofers, the Head of ZAO Philip Morris Izhora
"In our projects, we have faced the problem of paying VAT and the custom duties when importing production lines and other equipment for our enterprise. However, this has been compensated by the tax privileges that we were granted in compliance with the regional law on investment activities."
L. Westberg, Chief Executive, AO Svetogorsk
"In July 1997, the Leningrad Region passed a law on investment activities, which granted substantial tax privileges to investors. Our experience with many customers such as Philip Morris Izhora, Caterpillar Tosno, Ford Vsevolozhsk, and Assi Doman, working on investment projects in the Leningrad Region, has shown that for many investors, this law has become one of the key factors in making the decision to open new production lines in this region.
...An analysis of the law on investment activities has shown that this law is one of the most progressive legal acts in Russia from the viewpoint of the amount and period of investment privileges that investors are granted. The practical implementation of the law has shown that the economic advantage for both the investors and the region is evident and that this regime helps the development of investment activities in the region..."
Linda Seagle, Vyacheslav Vlasov, Natalia Shcherbakova, Managers, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax Department
"Our work experience with the government of the Leningrad Region has shown that in this region, investors receive understanding and assistance from the regional authorities when solving the problems that involve the application of regional investment legislation. In addition, our recent experience of developing and promoting amendments to the law on investment activities in the Leningrad Region has shown that the government has a constructive approach to initiatives with regard to changing the regional investment legislation. This improves the investment climate in the region."
Olga Litvinova, Deputy Head of the Tax and Laws Department Andrei Sergeyev, Expert ZAO Arthur Andersen
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