Industry and Trade Ministry proposes allocating 55 bln rubles to support Russian auto industry, producers of specialized machinery - source

MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry is proposing that the second package of the plan to support the Russian economy amid sanctions include a measure allocating 55.3 billion rubles in support for Russian automakers, producers of specialized machinery and incentives for local production of automotive components, a source familiar with the ministry's proposals as of March 24 told Interfax.

In particular, the Ministry is proposing that 18.4 billion rubles be allocated from the federal budget in 2022 to subsidize interest rates on loans issued to the automotive industry.

Another 30 billion rubles is proposed for allocation in the current year to implement a program for production of universal automobile components. The Industry and Trade Ministry, according to the source, indicates that the redistribution of funds in this amount to that end in 2022 would be at "at the expense of funds for the recycling fee."

In the second package of state support for Russian enterprises under sanctions, the ministry is also proposing measures to incentivize manufacturers of special-purpose machinery. In particular, this concerns subsidizing interest rates on old loans in the sphere of production of agricultural, road-building machinery and food equipment (2 billion rubles for 2022) and subsidizing interest rates on new working capital loans for manufacturers of such machinery (4.9 billion rubles for 2022).

Interfax has sent an inquiry to the ministry.

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told reporters on March 22 that the ministry is formulating a common position with the automotive industry in order to take into account its wishes in the next packages of state support being prepared.

The primary measure of support for the automobile industry amid sanctions was the postponement of recycling fee payments for Q1-Q3 2022 by Russian automakers, approved in the beginning of March. Enterprises of the industry affected by sanctions were given an opportunity to pay the fee for Q4 2021 in the end of 2022 as well.

Previously, Manturov noted that automakers are covered by the mechanism approved by the government in March for raising of preferential loans by systemically important enterprises at 11% for replenishment of working capital. As Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced earlier, companies will be able to receive up to 10 billion rubles for a year under this mechanism, while a group of companies could get up to 30 billion rubles.

Back then, in March, Manturov told reporters that the Russian auto industry was supported by state purchases of school buses and ambulances, which were scaled up to help the industry overcome the effects of the coronavirus crisis. "Such work was done in 2020-2021 regarding the shift to the left of those orders that were in the plans of state customers. That kind of work has been done. We have to reconsider this now, because we have already shifted to the left those volumes that were intended for 2023-2024, for the current year. Now it is more likely that we will talk about forming a target order for 2023, because, according to our calculations, orders for 2022 have already been planned out by Russian manufacturers," the Minister noted.

He added that the resumption of subsidized discounts under the state programs of preferential car loans and leasing, which were in demand in Russia in previous years, makes sense only when the rhythmic production of cars is resumed. "As for preferential lending and leasing, probably, for today, until the whole chain of logistics is not set up and the production of cars rhythmically begins, it makes no sense to launch this program today," Manturov said.