OREANDA-NEWS. June 21, 2011. The transcript of the meeting’s beginning

Vladimir Putin: Mr Dmitriev, how is the work going on the Direct Investment Agency? What are the most interesting projects and prospects?

Vladimir Dmitriev: Mr Putin, the agency, to be more exact, the managing company, has been registered with the Tax service. It is presently being registered with the Federal Service for Financial Markets. This is a technical side of the matter. The main thing is that  after you meeting with investors on May 18,, we received numerous positive signals about Russia’s investment climate and the establishment of the Direct Investment Fund. I have prepared a digest of various quotations and recent publications. I cannot put it more eloquently than the CEO of a Kuwaiti investment agency who said that Russia has all the right cards to be at the forefront.

Vladimir Putin: Wonderful. How do they respond in terms of investment?

Vladimir Dmitriev: As far as we know, a Chinese investment agency is ready to invest both in joint projects with the fund and other projects independently.

Vladimir Putin: We have agreed that they will be investing in individual projects launched and supported by the agency rather than in the agency itself. What progress has been made in this respect?

Vladimir Dmitriev: The recent forum confirmed that there are sectors that are of great interest for investors, above all innovative sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food industry, agriculture, and energy efficiency, as well as sectors related to middle class growth. That is, investors feel a significant growth potential for Russia’s middle class and hence consumption and sectors that will be operating to meet the middle class’s demands.

Naturally, there are basic high growth potential sectors of interest for investors

As for investments, I believe that it is still too early to speak about specific amounts, but we are sure that there is money and there are projects to invest in.

Vladimir Putin: Some investors are already working in this country. It is very important to support their intention to expand cooperation.

Vladimir Dmitriev: We expect technical and organizational issues to be finalized this summer. The fund’s team is being put together, as is the managing company. Thus, we expect to start working on specific projects by September.

Vladimir Putin: Do you believe that the agency will be able to get involved in specific projects and, if it will, could you specify them? What do you expect to achieve?

Vladimir Dmitriev: I believe that we’ll strike one or two deals till this year end. I don’t think that the money set to be allocated this year – 62 billion rubles – will be used to the full, but I believe that together with the fund we’ll be able to raise about half a billion US dollars  for implementing specific projects.

I would also like to inform you about our charitable activity. The Bank’s Supervisory Board approved Vnesheconombank’s sponsorship programme last year. We held the first tournament called Tennis Legends in Moscow. We invited former global tennis stars, including Bjorn Borg, Goran Ivanisevic and Carlos Moya, and prominent Russian tennis players, such as Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin and Andrei Cherkasov, alongside Russian amateur players. We held one doubles tournament, in which the doubles included an amateur and a professional player. On the second day, a tournament for the professionals was held. This tournament was a great event for many people – young people, children and people keen on tennis. So, thank you for your part in coordinating and approving this programme.

Vladimir Putin: How is the bank’s sponsorship programme organized in general?

Vladimir Dmitriev: We act in various areas depending on the budget. We recently had a meeting with the Moscow Patriarchate which is completing some infrastructural work with the bank’s assistance. We are also finishing a programme to build a recreation centre for young people who worship at a church near the St Daniel Monastery. As I said, we also have an extensive sports programme. We give high priority to culture. For example, we support young performers and singers from the Mariinsky Theatre. Two students from the theatre annually receive Vnesheconombank prizes. There are many more areas that we support through sponsorship and charity programmes.

Vladimir Putin: Do you provide support for ice hockey and the national team?

Vladimir Dmitriev: Unfortunately, we do…

Vladimir Putin: You don’t feel like speaking about Russia’s national ice hockey team?

Vladimir Dmitriev: We either put in too little money, or too much. But things are as they are. We provide financial support for the team indeed, but the money is not the most important thing here. The team is comprised of professional players who in total have more money than in Vnesheconombank’s budget. Hopefully, the team will be lucky next time.

Vladimir Putin: No, God helps those who help themselves. Strenuous efforts have to be made. Evidently, experts are presently deciding how the team should be reformed. Now, decisions will be taken on how the team should be put together and on how its work and training should be organized. However, the team will need further assistance and financial support. Let’s look into sponsorships programmes once again at a meeting of the Bank’s Supervisory Board.