FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian economics minister presented Russia's special economic zones (SEZ) in Germany Wednesday, and discussed Russia's privatization plans.
During his presentation, German Gref said the advantages of special economic zones included a lower tax burden and simplified tax and customs administration.
He said residents in industrial zones would be exempt from property, land and corporate tax for the first five years and that the unified social tax would be cut from 26% to 14% in four of them.
Russia's special economic zones will be under federal government control, he said.
According to Gref, all privileges will remain in effect for 20 years, but investors will retain their property beyond that period.
"We are creating islands of maximally liberal economy," he said, adding that the system of redtape-free business should be established all over Russia within the next 10 to 15 years.
He urged German investors to use business opportunities available in Russia. "Russia has 150 million consumers," he said, adding that Germans "have always been strategists" and were historically the first to enter the Russian market.
Gref also said the Russian government was considering the sale of a 20% stake in the state-owned foreign trade bank Vneshtorgbank (VTB). He said that up to 50% of the VTB's stock may be sold into private hands in the future.
As for another state-owned bank, Vneshekonombank (VEB), Gref said the government had no plans to privatize it at this point. "But we are discussing a system of support for Russian exports based on VEB," he said.
Gref also said his ministry had submitted to the Cabinet a revised draft resolution on the privatization of Russian telecommunications giant Svyazinvest.
The previous resolution was rejected owing to information security concerns from the national Security Council.
Gref said Svyazinvest's privatisation had been set tentatively for the second half of 2006.
The minister also mentioned the possibility of German trans-national company Siemens buying a controlling stake in Silovye Mashiny, Russia's leading heavy machinery manufacturer.
"Siemens is now completing negotiations for the purchase of a 25% stake plus one share in Silovye Mashiny," Gref said. "The company has filed an application with [Russia's] Anti-Monopoly Service."
"If their commercial talks with Interros [the company owning Silovye Mashiny] are successful, I don't think there will be any obstacles," he said.
