September 11, 2018 In the framework of the Fourth Eastern Economic Forum, a panel session entitled “Transformation of the business climate: a new impetus to the dialogue between business and government” was held.
Russia has many different tools for creating a favorable business environment and interaction with entrepreneurs. However, until recently, these processes were not centralized. In 2018, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, together with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and leading business associations, initiated a new mechanism for managing systemic changes in the business environment “Transformation of the Business Climate” (TLC). TDK is a tool for rapid response of departments to the demands of the business community. It contributes to the removal of existing restrictions on doing business. The new mechanism enhances the role of entrepreneurs at all stages: from the formation of initiatives to control over their implementation.
The session moderator, EY’s managing partner for the CIS, Alexander Ivlev, said that Russia has many different tools for creating a favorable business environment and interacting with entrepreneurs. However, until recently, these processes were not centralized.
In 2018, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, together with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and leading business associations, initiated a new mechanism for managing systemic changes in the business environment “Transformation of the Business Climate” (TLC). TDK is a tool for rapid response of departments to the demands of the business community. It contributes to the removal of existing restrictions on doing business. The new mechanism enhances the role of entrepreneurs at all stages: from the formation of initiatives to control over their implementation.
Session participants sought answers to questions about what tools really help businesses, what regulatory problems entrepreneurs face, how to synchronize processes to improve the business environment, which should include the TLC mechanism.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Vadim Zhivulin stressed that special economic zones (SEZ) located in the territory of the Russian Federation should not duplicate support measures for residents.
“Support measures are largely duplicated. The similarity of support tools often confuses investors and current residents of a special economic zone. In the future, they could adapt to the activities that a particular resident plans to carry out, ”he said.
Vadim Zhivulin said that because of standardization, often a part of the infrastructure cannot be used by potential residents, therefore it is necessary to provide more specificity for different types of activities. The deputy minister added that over 430 various material modes of business support are currently operating in Russia - these are the territories of advanced development (TOR), special economic zones, industrial parks, technology parks, clusters, and so on.
However, the situation with business support is still far from ideal. RSPP President Alexander Shokhin confirmed that according to the RSPP survey among entrepreneurs, 83% of business owners are ready to sell it.
“Therefore, we should think about a radical improvement of the business environment, we should not just adopt another strategic document (TDK - editorial note) instead of the National Entrepreneurial Initiative, but really try to make a breakthrough in changing the business environment in order to fulfill the tasks set in May decrees of Vladimir Putin, ”said the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
“It is necessary to stimulate investment activity. We found the technology to work with the government: companies show their investment opportunities, the government - their own. Such an interactive business and government will help consolidate the conditions for the implementation of these investments, develop systemic measures. As for the fiscal burden, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs proposed that the Ministry of Finance fix it, so that any maneuvers in the oil sector and other sectors did not increase the overall fiscal burden. For us, the main thing is the predictability of basic business conditions, ”said Alexander Shokhin.
SUN Group Vice-Chairman Shiv Vikram Khemka and World Bank Program Manager in the Russian Federation Christopher Miller also made presentations.
Moderator:
- Alexander Ivlev - Managing Partner for the CIS, EY
Speakers:
- Vadim Zhivulin - Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
- Shiv Vikram Khemka - Vice Chairman, SUN Group
- Christopher Miller - Program Manager for the Russian Federation, World Bank Group
- Alexey Repik - President, All-Russian Public Organization "Business Russia"
- Boris Titov - Commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs
- Alexander Shokhin - President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)
Panelists:
- Alex de Valuhoff - General Director, Aggreko Eurasia
- Mikhail Khomich - Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Udmurt Republic
- Yuri Chaika - First Deputy Chairman of the Khabarovsk Territory Government on investment and priority projects
- Andrey Shubin - Executive Director, OPORA RUSSIA All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
