Russia: Improved investment environment
Description
On 18 December 2011, amendments to the Federal Law “On Procedures for Foreign Investments in Entities Having Strategic Importance for Ensuring National Defence and State Security” (№ 57-FZ) and “On Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation” (№160-FZ) came into effect. The changes broaden the scope of investments by foreigners in Russian strategic companies carrying out exploration and extraction of minerals; relax the limits on foreign investments in strategic industries.
The amendments lift the ceilings of foreign ownership in certain sectors, eliminate the requirement to obtain governmental approval for acquisitions of (direct or indirect) control of up to 25% of shares of companies that develop Federal subsoil resources (the previous limit was 10%), exempt international financial organisations in which Russia is a member from certain approval requirements, and strip companies in certain sectors from their status as “strategic companies” for the purpose of the application of foreign investment rules.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 18 Dec 2011
GTA Evaluation: Green
Source:
Amendments to the Federal Law “On Procedures for Foreign Investments in Entities Having Strategic Importance for Ensuring National Defence State Security” (№ 57-FZ)
Amendments to the Federal Law “On Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation” (№160-FZ)
Government Response:
- 377 reads
