MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian finance minister said Tuesday foreign direct investment (FDI) in Russia would grow 14.5% year-on-year to $30 billion in 2007.
Speaking at an annual meeting of regional banks, Alexei Kudrin said the forecast for FDI in 2010 is $44 billion. "This suggests good prospects for working in Russia," he added.
At the third annual conference on the Russian debt market later in the day, Kudrin said the foreign debt of Russian companies was not a cause of concern. Companies' foreign debt currently accounts for 31.3% of GDP, against 50.9% in 2006, he said. However, the minister said there was a question mark over the effective use of these funds.
Kudrin said the government would not use the National Welfare Fund, which together with the Future Generations Fund will soon replace the Stabilization Fund, to support state-owned companies on the stock market.
The minister said the Russian government debt would be at its lowest level in 2008, and internal debt would account for over 50% of government debt.
