Investments of departed foreign companies remained in Moscow

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin talked about the situation with the city's economy, the business climate after the departure of foreign brands, when the assembly of Moskvich cars will begin, as well as the incidence of coronavirus. He was interviewed by Dmitry Kiselev and Maria Zybina.

— Earlier, you said that our economy had stabilized after the pandemic and subsequent crises. At the same time, borrowings are included in the budget. To what purposes?

— The word ‘stabilized’ is not accurate. Not everything is brilliant. Of course, there are difficulties in the economy. It would be strange to deny them. However, there is no collapse, which some experts predicted in February and March. The overwhelming majority of our enterprises have adapted to the current situation. Moreover, the profitability of these enterprises is gradually recovering, including the financial sector, where the profit collapse was the most obvious. Therefore, we feel quite confident for the budget. Moreover, the deficit that we cover with borrowing, well, most likely, it is of a technical nature. I think we will do without actual borrowings. Besides, Moscow's debt burden is minimal.

— And how the business climate of the city has changed after the departure of a number of foreign companies?

— Of course, it is unpleasant situation when so many investors leave the city. I must say that the vast majority of these niches are filled by Russian entrepreneurs. This includes the food industry, pharmaceuticals, and the production of high-tech goods. So far, the only niche that is really problematic is the automotive industry. With the departure of Renault, Moskvich is on idle. Next week the first assembly will be starting. Next year, I hope, it will reach the parameters of the volume of work comparable to the period when Renault was there. In addition, in two or three years, we plan to launch our own platform, the Russian platform for electric vehicles.

— How soon can you expect the first cars from the Moskvich industry?

— Very soon. Next week (laughs).

— Is there a growing demand for goods produced in Moscow?

— Yes, there is. Mostly, because of significantly decreased imports, especially European ones. Of course, it began to be filled with products of domestic manufacturers. But this growth is from 5-7% and up to 50% in different segments.

— What growth are you talking about?

—I’m talking about the growth of domestic producers that have replaced imports. It's everywhere: in the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry, technology, consumer materials, equipment, and so on. We see the growth of domestic producers in all segments of the capital economy.

— It means, in fact, that the departure of foreign investors...

— The departure of foreign investors created opportunities for domestic ones, created niches where they began to fill up very quickly with domestic goods. Therefore, when we met with our entrepreneurs for the first time (we had met before in this mode online on a permanent basis), holding sectoral working groups of various types of industry, we heard anxiety, excitement and so on everywhere. It was not massive, but the tension was there. These problems about components, suppliers, substitutions, import substitution, and so on have been solved in almost all sectors. All sectors work normally.

— Every cloud has a silver lining, in fact.

— But there is probably nothing good in this, but, after all, this is the choice of foreign investors. When they left our sites, their investments remained in the city.

Source: Ria.ru