‘Investors in Russia can’t just pretend they are in London’ - Deripaska to RT

Russia remains a stable place for investments for those who have actually “experienced the country” instead of “getting their information from the media,” Rusal’s director Oleg Deripaska told RT at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“The Russian budget is almost in surplus. We have low public debt to GDP. It is a challenging time for the US economy which is trying to fight with budget deficit, for the UK which struggles with growth,” Deripaska told the RT crew in St. Petersburg

That’s just one of reasons why it is worth investing in the Russian market. This is applies to big multinationals and smaller business as well. “If you work in Russia, you truly understand the advantages of doing business here,” Deripaska noted stressing that the key to success lies in understanding the country.

“Russia is not a country, it is a continent with its history and traditions. People coming here need to adapt to the way people here live, and they can’t just pretend they are in London.”

He once again underlined that “Russian companies are developing in the right way. We have a great potential in the Russian market.”   

When asked about the fate of the Euro and the continent’s development, the billionaire was quick to point out that the “Euro is definitely too heavy” assessing that “they cannot grow the economy unless they depreciate the Euro and allow some room for competitiveness.”

In terms of the free-trade zone between the US and Europe, the businessman said that it was “one of those initiatives that will create nothing.” Instead, Deripaska suggested that Washington should focus “on Latin America – this is their zone of trade, and this the place where they could create better ties and better export opportunities for US companies.”

When it came to assessing the Asian market, Deripaska said that China still has a reasonable opportunity to grow and the rate of expansion was “impressive.”

“You have to understand, we’re talking about growth of 10 percent 10 years ago when China was half of its size, and we’re talking about 7 percent now when China’s economy is two times bigger.”

Deripaska forecast that “I can’t see [China] slowdown, and I can’t see much risk in the next 2-3 years. The bureaucracy is quite efficient, and the companies are quite strong, and developing a lot of know-how,” he explained.