Russian SEZs: Ten of Russia’s Special Economic Zones are to be closed down and the rest handed over to the relevant regional authorities, the government in Moscow has decreed, after it turned out that its $1.91bn investment in the zones had only managed to generate $360m in return. Among those earmarked for closure are two SEZs by Lake Baikal and one on Russky Island in the Sea of Japan.
The decision to close down the SEZ initiative was taken after a report from the Federal Accounts Chamber found that they were riddled with corruption and had become mechanisms for tax evasion without making any material contribution to Russia’s industrial revival. It is an embarrassment for the Kremlin as it signals its failure to reproduce the huge success that neighbouring China has had in attracting FDI into its SEZs.
Moscow pulls plug on Russian SEZs
Source: intellinews