Russia: Foreign Investors Offering Advice, Not Money

Moscow Times ^ | 03/25/10 | Alex Anishyuk

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Foreign Investors Offering Advice, Not Money

25 March 2010

By Alex Anishyuk

Foreign investors were abuzz Wednesday over a Kremlin-hatched plan to turn the Moscow region town of Skolkovo into a high-tech innovation hub, but kindly advice to the project's backers far outweighed open interest in participation.

President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that he selected billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, a prominent investor both at home and in Europe, to lead the development of Russia's answer to Silicon Valley — particularly by attracting investors and innovators.

But representatives at the American Chamber of Commerce's 10th annual investment conference said Russia still needed to deal with long-standing issues, such as modernizing what it has and creating a countrywide climate that welcomes business.

The recession reminded state officials, after years of confidence from a commodity-driven boom, that foreign investment was important to spurring innovation, said Andrei Goltsblat, managing partner at Goltsblat BLP.

“In 2006 to 2008, the interest in foreign investment was decreasing, as Russian business was strengthening its positions," he said.

[jwparkerjr]

Yup, that's the way it is in the real world my Ruskie friends. Those who have money pretty know how they got it, how to keep it and make it earn more for them. They tend to generous with the suggestions and strings, and much more stingy with their funds. Those who aren't and don't are soon back to square one.

America, as a country used to be that way, but in the last 40 or 50 years we've been electing fools who have no respect for other peoples’ money beyond how it can feather their own nest.

America's new motto should be “If you've got what it takes, we'll take what you've got.”