Russia to ban 39 key sectors for foreign investors

Moscow, July 22 (UNI) Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma banning 39 sectors for foreign investment in the country, including natural monopolies, the defence sector, aerospace and the nuclear sector.

Under the bill, submitted in the lower house of parliament, a foreign company or a Russian firm willing to buy more than a 50 per cent stake in an enterprise from the list, or half of the seats on its board of directors or management committee, must get a permit from a regulatory body.

Foreign companies would be allowed to buy less than 25 per cent of the shares in a strategic enterprise, Vedomosti newspaper reported.

A government commission headed by the Prime Minister would grant or deny permits, acting in accordance with the instructions barring foreign investors from companies that have development licences for projects involving state secrets, export defence products, or state defence contracts.

However, foreigners might be allowed to buy such companies if they pledged to continue supplying weapons at agreed prices.

In the case of companies fulfilling projects involving state secrets, only Russians with a clearance permit may sit on the said company's managing bodies after its acquisition by a foreign investor.

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB-former KGB)) would monitor compliance with the law, including by using investigation methods.

UNI