"Sooner or later comes the time of breakthroughs"

It is necessary to invest in advance, even before the economic breakthrough. The Kostroma Region authorities are actively developing measures to support businesses: tax incentives, allocation of land for the construction of new facilities without bidding, and more. Sergey Sitnikov, Governor of the Kostroma Region, told Izvestia on June 4 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Read more about investments and entrepreneurship during the crisis in the material.

— During the first two days of the forum, you signed several investment agreements. Tell me, what is your main principle in choosing business partners?

— The main principle today is probably the same. It's not even about choosing partners. Today, any organization that intends to invest in its development should be carried like children in their arms and be glad that they did not stop today. And the main principle in the field is to stand up or invest. Our belief is that we need to invest in understanding that sooner or later the time for breakthroughs comes. And it is very important to prepare for these breakthroughs. Because the current situation of reduced competition between companies is open commodity markets, where sometimes something may be missing, and then the time of economic activity will come, and it is very important to prepare for it.

If you have invested, if you are ready for a new breakthrough in an environment where competitors are still lagging behind, then you will be a great success. Therefore, I am convinced that all companies, especially companies that are already doing business in the region and want to invest in their business, should be given all possible support, which we are doing.

— What specific measures are being proposed and which are in demand?

— We have legislatively adopted a fairly large package of various social measures. These include tax benefits and the allocation of land for the construction of new facilities without bidding, when an entrepreneur or investor has the opportunity to purchase this land at cadastral value. Today, all this is in high demand. Moreover, we have noticed that competition is forming in certain sectors for a number of investment projects that are related to such tasks as, for example, providing housing for public sector workers. When we are ready to provide land plots to a housing investor, we ask for apartments in return, which will go to doctors, teachers, and orphaned children. And the measure related to the allocation of land plots is already very competitive today. Therefore, it was decided that before the investment council, where we will make a decision on a particular project, we will conduct a competitive procedure in the interests of our residents.

— You have just mentioned several times that there will be a breakthrough and you need to be prepared for it. How would you assess the degree of readiness now?

— It's still low today. Look, I recently talked to one of the people who are seriously involved in business and calculate ahead. Some time ago, he went into the cache, as they say now. That is, the money that was from the sale of something, he invested in deposits. But he understands that in 2-3 years it will obviously be unprofitable to keep money on deposit. Therefore, he is investing now so that in two or three years he will have real products and real objects ready for sale. But we need to build now. Because if you start when the growth starts, you'll already be a year or two behind. That's all, the logic is absolutely clear. The crucial question here is how thoughtful our investors are and how much positive sentiment they have today in order to take these proactive steps.

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— Returning to the topic of the forum, have all the agreements that were signed here in previous years been implemented or are they being respected?

— Yes, everything that was signed at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum has been absolutely implemented. People are working, thank God, even in the current conditions, which is very difficult. Work continues, businesses are not closing or stopping. Everything is going on as usual.