TOP INTERVIEWS Interview with Mr. Titov Konstantin Alekseevich Governor of Samara Region Russian Federation February 8th, 2002.  Read our exclusive Interview in Russian Samara region is one of the most industrially developed administrative units in the Volga Federal District and in the Russia Federation as a whole. What specific industries would you say are currently the most dynamic? As estimated by the Russian Federation Government in 2001, as far as its socio-economic development is considered, the Samara Region is the third most developed after Moscow and St. Petersburg. We are proud of the fact that, last December, our province was the first Federation to be honored with Peter the Great Order, the greatest national reward in Russia. Since no Governmental prizes are normally given in Russia to honor any legal entity or territorial unit, Peter the Great Order is the top prize for the occasion. To come back to your question, agriculture is the most dynamic of the industries. We have great targets to achieve, and, in 2001, our results were encouraging. Virtually all of major indices had increased. I must also add that Samara never experienced any dramatic industrial decline as it was observed in some other Federations; the reason being that we designed several programs to support our industries and to further promote development of small entrepreneurship and business activities. These programs were implemented for instance at the Volga Automobile Plant - whose capacity is about 700.000 on an annual basis. "Roslada", another car making facility, benefited from our assistance in Syzran. It is actually in Syzran where cars are designed, before being assembled at the Volga Automobile Plant and then launched into the market. Petroleum production is another key industry, which is highly developing. In 2001, around 9,5 million tons of petroleum were produced, when comparing with slightly more that 8 million tons in 2000. Petrochemicals and oil processing are also far from unsuccessful. YUKOS Oil is running three petroleum-processing plants in the Samara Region, which are working at 80% of their full capacity. We are also grateful to "Sibur" Corporation that is running its business using our chemical facilities after having invested considerably. As of today, large investments have been put into the car industry, which means not only manufacturing in AvtoVAZ assembly lines, but also a joint venture (with General Motors participating) for the manufacturing of "Chevy-Niva" cars. Major successes have been achieved in the development of propulsion engineering, aircraft engineering and aerospace engineering. We had to face difficulties with the aircraft plant, due to a cut in orders normally placed into defense industries. Today, we are confidently looking at the future. Now, we also have to look at the building industry, which is on an upward trend. Equipment related to the building industry is also well oriented, notably for export. Cable and wiring manufacturing for power industry is also dynamic. Nowadays, they are positioning as manufacturers of wiring for the aircraft industry. How would you describe the investment climate in Samara region and can you name some examples of significant foreign investors in the region? We have over 3000 joint ventures. The Federal laws are liberal enough to investors. Considering the attractiveness of our investment climate, the incentives that we provide and the guarantees that we offer, we did not have trouble finding serious business partners as General Motors for instance. The total cost of their project is about 500 million USD. In which particular areas would you like to attract foreign investment? Each industrial branch has its own prospects considering its potential for growth. It should be noted that over 90% of our industrial facilities on the regional market, are private ones, and State capital is negligible. To my opinion, the most interesting among all projects is linked to the reconstruction of the international "SAMARA" airport and its cargo facilities. There are also projects related to the building industry and machinery, which you can detail at the following website: www.adm.samara.ru . For instance, after having searched for investors in several manufacturing industries, we finally decided to carry some projects on our own, and we are now enjoying our supplying our customers for export. As regard to the economic and industrial measures that would allow a better-balanced regional development, today, I, as Governor of the Region, am advocating for a baby food manufacturing facility. And, of course, we are going to stimulate it. There is a success in the development of agricultural manufacturing machinery. "Eurotekhnika", a joint venture (with German participation) is now in operation in the Region manufacturing a large range of mounted implements and trailed implements. Ms Liudmila Orlova, heads this venture. Having proved herself in business, she is successfully dealing with various German businesses now. Today, we are considering the possibility to manufacture tractors in the Samara Region; we are presently conducting negotiations with Byelorussia, Ukraine, USA and Germany - i.e. with countries sufficiently successful as manufacturers of agricultural machinery. We need an up-to-date agriculture, which means having up-to-date machinery as well. There are very interesting projects related to building equipment. If foreign electronic engineers and our own machine builders could join their efforts, then, I believe, very good equipments would be available. Which country is the largest investor to the Region? USA. Our statistics reveal that American business investments are considerably ahead as compared to other countries. Switzerland is the second, with an investment rate twice lower than to the American one. United Kingdom is the third followed by Hungary and Yugoslavia. Germany is the last of the six leading investors. What final message would you address to our readers? Foreign investors are enjoying the same guarantees and incentives to settle in the Samara Region than Russians. There is quite a bit of work to be done. Investors are welcome. There is the Governor's program for housing, agricultural development, building new hotels and shops. By the way, our population has a relatively high purchase power. We will make all the necessary arrangements to facilitate aircraft manufacturing. Today, aircrafts are very popular as a transport mean. Without being able to offer a great speed of movement, air transportation is needed for deliveries of highly valuable large-size cargoes. To prove this, it should be mentioned that, for instance, Germany is now actively pursuing a similar program. I am ready to have a personal meeting with each investor and ensure normal working conditions for him and reliable protection for his business. Welcome to Samara Region! Note: WINNE cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions.