Foreign investments in economic entities of strategic importance

On 22 June 2016, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsyganov took part in a conference on the economic conditions in Russia, organized by France-Russia Commerce and Industry Chamber. The conference focused on the current economic trends and possible development vectors as well as new opportunities on Russian market for foreign investors.

Andrey Tsyganov briefly described FAS as a multifunctional economic regulator putting an emphasis on the latest changes in its work and powers. “Russian antimonopoly authority has always been multifunctional, but in 2014-2015 several important changes happened. Now FAS is responsible for tariff-setting in the Russian Federation. FAS also controls public defence procurement. Finally, on 6 January 2016 the so-called “forth package” of amendments to the Law “On Protection of Competition” came into force making serious changes to FAS work practice”.

The speaker informed the conference participants on the legal framework for freeing investments and control over them, first of all the Federal Law “On the Procedure for Foreign Investments in the Business Entities of Strategic Importance for National Defence and State Security” and the Federal Law on Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation” (No.57-FZ).

He paid special attention to the mechanism of control over foreign investments in strategic companies, pointing out that No.57-FZ, above all else, set a number of restrictions for foreign investors. He also outlined the results of considering petitions: FAS received more than 400 petitions during the more than 8-year period of enforcement of this Law. The work of the Government Commission on Control of Foreign Investments is to no extent restrictive or prohibitive. Only 12 petitions filed by foreign investors were refused out of 205 transactions on which the decisions were made”, emphasized Andrey Tsyganov.

He outlined the procedure for completing transactions with strategic business entities and the procedure for considering them by FAS. “We save several months for foreign investors thanks to the petition-consideration scheme built up by us”, stated Deputy Head of FAS.

Finally, he highlighted the most significant transactions by French investors considered by FAS, including acquiring 20.5% shares of a strategic user of subsoil resources - “Yamal SPG” OJSC by “Total E&P Yamal” of France; “ALSTOM HOLDINGS” establishing control over “Tver Railway Coach Manufacturing Plant” OJSC, “Bryansk Machine-Building Plant” Managing Company” CJSC, “Danone” acquiring several milk companies in Russia, etc.