Repik calls for business resources to focus on sectors with competitive advantages

Delovaya Rossiya head Alexei Repik proposed pursuing technological leadership in sectors where Russia has advantages while accepting a managed lag elsewhere, in an interview with RBC.

Repik said fear of costly mistakes, uncertainty and a preference for passive income or preserving existing businesses were holding back new industries. In his assessment, leaders of large, established companies find it harder to take risks.

Even a successful investment may expand an existing activity rather than create a new one, he said. Building a similar industrial plant beside an operating facility could be profitable without securing technological leadership.

He proposed concentrating resources where Russian businesses can deliver the strongest results. Elsewhere, he suggested that obtaining technologies three to six months after pioneers might be acceptable if the cost were three times lower.

At an October 15 meeting with Delovaya Rossiya representatives, Vladimir Putin called for a new investment cycle and more funding for promising projects. He assigned businesses a leading role while promising continued state support.

RBC previously reported a programme of more than 50 proposals from the business association, including changes to small-business tax preferences, an inheritance tax and contributions from non-working recipients of passive income. Repik said the document had only a limited connection to the association’s forum agenda, singling out its investment tax deduction concept.

The Finance Ministry told RBC it had examined Delovaya Rossiya’s proposals and considered them in need of further comprehensive work.