Hello. Today, we will consider foreign investments in Russia. In particular, general regulation, opportunities for foreign investors as well as limitations and restrictions set up by laws for them. In the Russian Federation, foreign investments are regulated by a variety of legal acts. The basic law that regulates foreign investments is the federal law on foreign investments in the Russian Federation number 160-FZ of the 9th of July 1999. It guarantees foreign investors the rights to invest and to receive profits and revenues from their investments and sets up the general term for foreign investors business activity in the Russian Federation. However, the mentioned law does not apply to foreign investments in certain fields such as banking, insurance, mass media, broadcast organization, air companies as well as non commercial legal entities. Foreign investments in those fields are regulated by relevant federal laws. We will consider them in the following video, named limitations and restrictions on foreign investments. Certain restrictions on foreign investments are also imposed by the federal law on the procedure for foreign investment, in companies of strategic significance for national defense and security number 57-FZ of the 29th of April 2008. This law regulates the equation of control by foreign investors over Russian company of strategic value for the country. When the constitution of the Russian Federation, the civil court or the Russian Federation and federal laws on joint stock companies, limited liability companies, security market and some others are established the general legal frameworks for foreign investments in Russia. Also, it should be noted that the Russian Federation is a member of the World Trade Organization and thus, has committed to implement all its treaties and agreements in particular, agreement on trade related investment measures. The basic definition of a foreign investor is determined by the federal law on foreign investments. According to that law, foreign investors are foreign nationals and legal entities as well as stateless persons that are entitled to invest in accordance with the legislation of the country of their residence. Foreign investors also include organisations established in accordance with the laws of a foreign country and not being legal entities. Foreign states and international organizations as well as entities under their control are also considered as foreign investors. The strategic companies law expand this definition. According to that law, foreign investors are also legal entities and foreign investors control even if they are established according with Russian laws and Russian citizens with foreign citizenship. In respect of investment policy, it should be noted, Russian authorities highly support investments in general and foreign investments in particular. Foreign investors should be treated no less favorably than domestic investors with some exceptions. Those exceptions may be imposed in order to protect the Russian constitutional system, the rights and health of individuals as well as to guarantee the defense and the security of the state. Foreign investments may only be nationalized following the adoption of a federal law and for compensation. Foreign investments are permitted in most spheres of Russian economy, government securities, stocks and bonds, direct investment in a new business, purchasing Russian owned enterprises, joined ventures, et cetera. One of the most important feature of Russian investment policy is a tax stabilization clause, also named the grandfather clause. It's provided by the federal law on foreign investment. The grandfather clause prohibits increasing the rates of certain federal taxes until initial investments have been recouped up to a maximum of seven years, unless this period is extended by Russian government. This clause applies to foreign investors, Russian companies with foreign investments more than 25 percent of charter capital and for Russian companies with foreign investments that implement priority investment project, regardless their share of foreign investment in their charter capital. A priority investment project is a project where the amount of foreign investment exceeds 1 billion rubles or where a foreign investor has purchased an equity, interest was more than 100 million rubles. In both cases, the investment project should be entered into a list of projects approved by the Russian government. Key exception for the grandfather clause are: excise tax, very cheap for domestic products and pension fund payments.
