Russia launches Krasnoyarsk economic forum

An economic forum has started in Krasnoyarsk.

Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin said that the country needs to
increase the annual GDP growth rate to 6-7%. The current rate is 4%, he said
at the forum on Friday.

The minister noted the need to find new factors of economic growth
that were not included in the pre-crisis period. Russia needs to
improve the investment climate and increase foreign and interior
investment flows.

The investments in Russian economy in 2010 were equal to 20.5% of the
GDP, or 9 trillion rubles.

Kudrin mentioned that engineering processing industry lacks
investments needed for modernization.

Direct foreign investments in Russia dropped 1.5-fold, to $12-14
billion, compared with a peak of $27 billion in "the best years",
Kudrin said.

The plan of economic development prepared by the Ministry of Economic
Development allows for the deficit of the federal budget to reach 2%
of the GDP until 2020 with oil prices at $100 per barrel does not have
the right for existence, the finances minister said.

Russian industry may reach the pre-crisis level in late 2011 or early
2012. The minister said that industry reached 97.99% of the pre-crisis
period. Engineering is 20% behind the pre-crisis level, metallurgy -
8%, construction - 5%.

Russian industrial production grew by 8.2% in 2010, compared with the
forecasts of growth from 7.6% to 8.3%. Russian industrial production
dropped by 9.3% in 2009.

The GDP increased by 3.8% in 2010, coinciding with the latest
forecasts, which was reduced from the 4.0% forecast after the
droughts.