Japanese investors and Far Eastern small business begin to work together - experts

MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Japanese investors participating in projects in the Far East began to involve regional small and medium-sized enterprises. Businessmen of the two countries are beginning to interact more actively: the share of non-oil and gas exports from Russia is growing, and bilateral cooperation in new industries is gaining momentum, according to experts interviewed by TASS. The development of cooperation between Russia and Japan within small and medium-sized enterprises is part of the eight-point plan, which was proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in May 2016. "Cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises of Russia and Japan is very importance. Taking into account the geopolitical situation (there are sanctions from Japan but, according to Japanese partners, they are very formal), policies of import substitution and orientation of the Russian leadership to the East, mutual interest in a broad economic interaction from Moscow and Tokyo is very justified," leading expert from of the Far Eastern Federal University Vitaly Savenkov told TASS. According to him, the efforts of the Russian government to support small and medium-sized enterprises and the development of the Far East "are gradually beginning to bear fruit - businessmen of the two countries are beginning to interact more actively, the share of non-primary exports from Russia is growing, bilateral cooperation in new industries is gaining momentum." "The Japanese side is increasingly interested in medicine and innovations, is trying to support its small and medium-sized enterprises when they enter the Russian market, and is also very pleased to see Russian small and medium-sized enterprises built into the chains of production of the largest Japanese corporations," he noted. "The development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Far East has received a tremendous impetus with the introduction of priority development areas, as the bulk of projects is planned for launch in 2018-2019. Thanks to these efforts, Russian entrepreneurs significantly improved the quality of their products, received state support for their undertakings, found new partners, investors and markets. Considering positive geopolitical trends of the rapprochement between Moscow and Tokyo at the level of heads of state, diversification of economic cooperation towards small and medium-sized enterprises looks appropriate and prospective," the source added. Representatives of enterprises with Japanese capital and subsidiaries of companies from Japan also notes specific nature of requirements for contractors. "We have specific requirements, and then comes the desire of our partners who will work with us," Sergey Belyaev, member of the board of directors of First Wood Primorye. According to him, the company has certain requirements for contractors, and in the future, when in other regions of the Far East and the west of the country, partners will be also demanded to maintain the quality level. At the same time, economic efficiency is the main guideline for choosing domestic suppliers, according to the Russian-Japanese company Mazda Sollers. "We have a large supplier base among Russian companies. Accessories and auxiliary materials for production needs are bought in Russia," a representative of the car assembly company noted. According to him, any large enterprise creates a multiplicative effect around itself, as its operations require involving a large number of diverse suppliers of materials and services. "We focus on economic efficiency indicators for the enterprise and conduct a competent selection of suppliers," Mazda Sollers representative said. Read more