CONFERENCES HIGHLIGHT BARRIERS TO INNOVATION AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEKATERINBURG 000079 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV EFIN RS SUBJECT: CONFERENCES HIGHLIGHT BARRIERS TO INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS IN URALS REGION Sensitive But Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (U) Summary: At recent events in Yekaterinburg, prominent government, business, and academic representatives discussed issues of the Greater Urals economy. Several presenters from business and government noted signs of improvement in the Russian economy, but called for greater diversification of the Urals economy, modernization, and innovation. It was left to the academic participants to note that modernization and innovation cannot be imposed by decree and that competitiveness must come through investment in research and modern production techniques. The importance of "good" employment (e.g., in efficient, competitive enterprises) versus "bad" employment (mass employment in inefficient, non-competitive dinosaur enterprises) was also stressed. End summary. ¶2. (U) Introduction: The Fourth Annual Urals Conference devoted to the Greater Urals Economy, hosted by Ural Ekspert magazine and the oblast government, took place on November 13 in oblast government offices. Guest from Moscow included Deputy Minister for Economic Development Andrey Klepach, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Stanislav Naumov, and Acting Director for Infrastructure of Rosnanotech Yevgeniy Yevdokimov. Federal officials focused on statistics rather than actions federal and regional governments can take to stimulate innovation and modernization. From Sverdlovsk oblast, Deputy Polpred Aleksandr Beletskiy and Prime Minister Viktor Koksharov spoke on the current state of the regional economy. Sergey Afontsev, of the Institute of the World Economy and Foreign Relations, spoke critically about the situation in the regions and monocities. On November 19, a conference at the Urals Law Academy focused on IPR in the Innovative Economy. Well-known economist Aleksandr Tatarkin, who is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a Communist, demonstrated that despite President Medvedev's vision, Russia faces an uphill struggle as it tries to reset its economy. End introduction. Regional Economy Recovering, Post Crisis Planning -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) Sverdlovsk Prime Minister Viktor Koksharov opened the Nov. 13 forum with news that the Sverdlovsk oblast economy is showing signs of recovery. In January 2009, the oblast economy showed a drop of over 50 per cent compared to 2008; in October 2009, however, the economy grew by 10-12 percent over September ¶2009. The oblast government is now working on a post-crisis development plan focused on industrial modernization. He underlined that Sverdlovsk depends on the world market for metals and metallurgical products and would benefit from diversification. Orders for machinery products have decreased significantly due to the slump in oil and gas production, and reduced road construction. He said that forestry products constitute an underdeveloped sector and called for high end wood processing in the region. The oblast plans to develop a new plant in Nizhniy Tagil to process gas into methanol and pitches. This plant would develop out of the state-owned Khimplast plant. Koksharov also mentioned the first medical/pharmaceutical cluster in Russia where artificial kidneys, insulin, anti-viral medicines, etc., are being developed and produced. Finally, he said, Sverdlovsk oblast is one of the first regions of Russia to have digital TV broadcasting, which now extends to 25 percent of the population. Low Investment Hinders Modernization -------------- ¶4. (U) The Deputy Chief Editor of Ekspert magazine criticized Russian managers who think strictly in the short term and do not invest in modernization required to become competitive. Andrey Klepach compared Russia to China, noting that Russia spends only 1.3 per cent of GDP on research and development while China spends ten times more. For businesses to be competitive, he said, they should invest at least 10 per cent of their income in R&D. He added that infrastructure development is lagging, with Russia investing only 2-3 per cent of GDP in infrastructure while even Kazakhstan spends 4-7 per cent of GDP in this sector. He called for new laws to allow construction of toll roads, which currently are not allowed if there is no state financed road serving the same route. Rosnano Leading the Way -------------- ¶5. (U) Yevgeniy Yevdokimov, Managing Director of Rosnano's infrastructure department focused on Rosnanotech's plans for the Greater Urals. Rosnano does not finance research, concentrating instead on commercialization of innovations. In 2009 it financed 38 projects valued at RR 100 billion. Yevdokimov YEKATERINB 00000079 002 OF 003 stressed that almost all projects receiving support from Rosnano can be considered small- or medium-sized enterprises. In 2010 Rosnano plans to establish ten regional centers, each with RR 19 billion to support innovative start ups. He said major challenges for innovative companies are the absence of high-end equipment for research and production; lack of demand for leading edge products; and lack of financing for the full production cycle. Modernization Cannot Be Decreed -------------- ¶6. (U) Sergey Afontsev of the Institute of World Economy and Foreign Relations created a stir when he criticized the government for its attitude towards business. According to Afontsev, local officials regard businesses as tax-paying and employment machines, without regard for the efficiency or competitiveness of the enterprises. He took government to task for supporting enterprises that are not competitive and instituting barriers to trade that limit consumers to locally manufactured goods and prop up failing industries which face inevitable bankruptcy unless they invest in modern technology. He said that government cannot impose modernization from above. Government should incentivize long-term planning by businesses with long-term loans. According to Afontsev, the longest term loan available locally is limited to two years, which is not enough to recoup investment in modernization or innovation. Afontsev linked low salaries to support of "bad" jobs by government. By continuing to support ineffective enterprises merely to maintain employment levels, low labor productivity will continue and keep salaries low. He urged government to fund real retraining programs for employees of inefficient enterprises to prepare them for modern, high-tech jobs. E-Government Coming Soon -------------- ¶7. (U) A young Yekaterinburg city duma deputy who owns his own IT company, Leonid Volkov, spoke about the necessity of e-government which he said will increase transparency and minimize corruption. He called on government at all levels to standardize documents and forms in preparation for greater use of computer technology. He is currently developing the master plan for implementation of e-government in Yekaterinburg and has been invited to participate in a similar federal project. Volkov expects that e-government will result in layoffs of government employees. Russia Lags Behind -------------- ¶8. (U) Meanwhile, at the Urals Law Academy, Professor Aleksandr Ivanovich Tatarkin of the Russian Academy of Sciences took Russian government of all levels to task for not investing in R&D that would help develop innovative technologies and products as well as increase the competitiveness of Russian companies. Despite constant "reforms" in education and research since 1999, he finds that financing has decreased significantly since the era of the USSR. He cited statistics showing that Russia lags behind the U.S. and China in R&D investment: the U.S. spends about 7 percent of GDP on R&D; over 83 percent of Finland's GDP is based on innovative technologies; in the U.S., 80 percent of GDP is based on innovations; in China, 40 percent of GDP is based on innovative technologies. In Russia, by contrast, only 1 percent of GDP is attributed to innovation. Tatarkin commented on survey results that highlighted the following challenges: 1) Russian consumers do not demand innovative products; 2) banks are afraid of lending to innovative companies, particularly start-ups; 3) there is almost no government support for innovative developments; and 4) the education system does not turn out innovators or employees with the skills to work in high-tech industries. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) It seems that the academics are ahead of government and business. In these two meetings we heard some frank criticisms of the Russian economy and government's role in stimulating development. Academics also presented many suggestions for how to reshape the economy to promote entrepreneurism and competitiveness. Business and government presenters, on the contrary, repeated the themes of President Medvedev but seemed to have no idea how to realize them. "Innovation" is becoming the mantra of political leaders but there does not appear to be a common understanding of what this means. Those in entrenched positions, whether business or political, pay lip service to ideas of the new economy but then impede measures that might aid restructuring. The recent visit to Yekaterinburg of Defense YEKATERINB 00000079 003 OF 003 Minister Serdyukov is a perfect example. Serdyukov advised defense contractors to minimize new research projects. As the military is a major investor in R&D, its de-emphasis of new research will likely dampen the effects of Medvedev's push for innovation, modernization, and competitiveness. The first official actions of Governor Misharin provide another example. He visited a bankrupt production facility where power had been cut because the company, which owes power and wage arrears, cannot pay. But the Governor has decreed that the factory will stay open and that it must have power. This is a clear example of a non-competitive enterprise with "bad" jobs. As the academics noted, command economy solutions have failed to lift the Urals regional economy out of its slump. Without a change in strategy, the Urals economy has little chance to become competitive in the global market. SANDUSKY