Sberbank sees Russian GDP growing 2% in 2023, budget deficit at 2%-3% of GDP

MOSCOW. June 14 (Interfax) - The Russian economy will grow by about 2% in 2023, Sberbank president and CEO Herman Gref said.

"Our forecast for this year is that the economy will end it with growth. By how much is hard to say at the moment, but our forecast is about 2%, and this is a good result. Within two years the economy will recover to its previous size and development indicators," Gref said in an interview with RBC.

He also said it is fundamentally important that Russia remains a market economy. "All market institutions retain their importance. And the Russian budget has not been subjected to some sort of artificial constructs that ultimately really reduce the stability of macroeconomics as a whole," Gref said.

Russia's federal budget in 2023 could amount to 2%-3% of GDP, he said. "For such a year, this is very little. And borrowing as a source to cover the deficit is an absolutely normal market practice," Gref said.

"The Finance Ministry is behaving like an absolutely market player. It is placing market bonds on market conditions. And market players acquire OFZ [federal bonds], including us, as the biggest buyer. And we intend to do this in future as well," Gref said.

The development of the Russian economy will depend on the process of its restructuring and the state of the global economy, he said. He did not rule out the possibility of a new global crisis in the next few years.

"Of course, today there are signs that a recession is possible. Is it possible that we might face a global economic crisis in the next few years? The answer is it's possible, and in that case, of course, this will also affect our economy," Gref said.

If global economic growth continues and there are no new catastrophes, the Russian economy will continue to grow in the next three years, Gref said, adding that there is potential for this.

Russia's economy has to go through a process of infrastructure restructuring, foremost for exports and imports, he said.

"We see that this process, however painful it is, is progressing fairly quickly. An additional stimulus for development will be potential replacement of the largest suppliers of goods and services leaving the Russian market. In the next two or three years Russian entrepreneurs will have a good opportunity to fill vacated niches," Gref said.