Fon Mathuros, Head of Media, World Economic Forum: Tel.: +41 (0)79 201 0211; Email: fma@weforum.org
· GDP growth, low inflation and market diversification have given the Russian economy a strong macroeconomic foundation
· Adapting the economy for the digital era will require leadership by both government and business
· The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place on 23-26 January in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World
· For more information www.weforum.org
Davos, Switzerland, 24 January 2018 – The Russian economy has recovered from recent economic setbacks and low commodity prices and has seen increasing wages, decreasing interest rates and, by many measures, a strong macroeconomic foundation for future growth.
“It’s quite stable in terms of GDP growth, inflation rate,” said Sergey Gorkov, Chairman, Vnesheconombank, Russian Federation, about the Russian market. Gorkov noted that Russia continues to be based on a “traditional economy” and that changes will be necessary for the economy to embrace the potential of technology.
“We focused on the things we had to do first: macroeconomic indicators,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. He noted that fighting inflation and regulating the banking sector were particular areas of emphasis.
Taking advantage of Russia’s potential will require preparing workers for digitization and automation. Some Russian companies are investing in particular in blockchain technologies as an area for leadership. Those close to President Putin speculate that, if elected for a fourth term, the Russian government is likely to continue in its current direction, with special attention to technology.
Putin “believes Russia should do more in order to embrace new technologies”, said Alexey A. Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Severstal, Russian Federation. Mordashov forecast that businesses could take a primary role in adapting the Russian economy for the digital future and promoting public-private partnerships to achieve that goal.
Macroeconomic stability in itself is not enough to stimulated economic growth. “You’ve got stability with stagnation,” noted Frederick Kempe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Council, USA.
Normalizing relations with the West is one avenue for increasing future economic growth. However, a number of geopolitical challenges remain on the horizon. And businesses tend to be reluctant to invest in contexts of geopolitical risk.
“Uncertainty is creating some problems,” said Emma Marcegaglia, Chairman, Eni, Italy. “As a business, we would like to have a more open situation” between the West and Russia.
The World Economic Forum’s 48th Annual Meeting is taking place on 23-26 January 2018 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. More than 3,000 leaders from around the world are gathering in a collaborative effort to shape the global, regional and industry agendas, with a commitment to improve the state of the world.
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