Foreign Direct Investments in Russia

Abstract

In recent years Russia’s investment performance has been very disappointing. The Asian crisis, and then Russia’s own economic turmoil are currently jeopardizing plans for much needed investments. At the same time, the devaluation has created a situation in which investors could benefit from increased price competitiveness if producing domestically. Despite the current crisis, some foreign companies have recently made plans to expand their activities in Russia, taking advantage of the small, but real window of opportunity that has arisen due to the devaluation. These are companies that either rely on domestic inputs for their production, or are able to shift from imported to indigenous inputs, and thus take advantage of the increased price competitiveness.