27 Sep 2007 16:57

Interfax Launches Website on Investment Opportunities in Russian Regions

Interfax Information Services Group has launched a website, http://www.russianeconomy.ru/, to help Russian regions find investors, inform Russian and foreign companies on investment opportunities in Russian regions, and report on economic activities in the regions.

News and analytical materials for the site are prepared by the Interfax Center for Economic Analysis (Interfax-CEA). They include reports on investment opportunities that offer a comprehensive picture of the investment climate in a region and its resources.


The site also offers regularly updated information on the budget policies and fiscal systems of regions, on local legislation and the activities of the main regional companies, credit ratings of regions, statistics, and interviews with officials and business leaders.


The site will also report the latest news provided by Interfax, enabling its users to monitor major developments in a region on a daily basis.


The first pilot project by Interfax-CEA posted on the site is a study of Nizhny Novgorod region, which, experts believe, offers Russia’s best opportunities for investment in auto manufacturing, information technology, transportation, logistics, and construction.


"We have primarily based our report on Nizhny Novgorod region on practical experience that we accumulated in investor relations studies, which ultimately enabled us to obtain assessments as accurate as possible," said project manager Galina Yermilova.


The project involves analysis of legislation, programs and statistics, an independent assessment of investment projects that have been launched, and meetings with local business and government officials.


"It is a gratifying fact that, in Nizhny Novgorod region, investment is protected by what is one of the most advanced regional legislation systems and that the authorities give investors serious help in choosing an investment target, thereby doing a great deal to make the region more attractive for investors and popularize it," Yermilova said.


*** Interfax-CEA is part of Interfax Information Services Group and specializes in macroeconomic forecasts, forecasts of developments in the money and financial markets of Russia and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, analysis of regional financial markets and economies, and provision of information on the activities of Russian institutional investors.


Rankings of major Russian banks and insurance companies coming under the generic title of "Interfax 100" and rankings of leading CIS banks and insurers under the generic title of "Interfax 1000" are Interfax-CEA’s most popular publications and are highly valued by financial market participants.


Since 2006, Interfax-CEA has been publishing rankings of managers of pension funds and evaluating standards of asset management.


*** Interfax Information Services Group is a source of information and means of communications for political and business solutions.


Set up in 1989, the Group brings together national, regional and specialized news agencies in Russia, other CIS countries, China, and Central Europe. Interfax comprises companies and divisions reporting news, providing analytical services, offering market and fundamental information, and developing software.


Interfax is also the partner of international rating agency Moody’s Investors Service in Moody’s Interfax Rating Agency, which is a leading rating agency in the Russian market.


Interfax and Experian, a global information solutions company, are partners in the Experian Interfax credit history bureau, which assesses the credit worthiness of borrowers.


Thomson Financial, a Thomson Corporation division that is a leading supplier of information and technological solutions for the international financial community, is a strategic partner of Interfax in the provision of investor relations services.