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Offshore oil platform near Sakhalin
Island: the area is the site of a
£10 billion gas liquefaction plant
being developed by Sakhalin |
FOREIGNERS HAVE BEEN eyeing Russia's wealth of natural resources and 145 million-strong consumer market hungrily for most of the past decade. But the few that attempted an investment often came away with their fingers badly burnt.
Foreign direct investment has remained stuck at about $20 to $25 a head of the Russian population. By contrast, most other countries in eastern Europe can boast per capita FDI of several hundred, if not thousands, of dollars. But on the back of stellar economic growth and a return to political stability this year the first big foreign investments have arrived since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Measuring foreign investment is difficult as so much of Russia's trade is done under the table and many of the big companies are registered...
