Meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission to Increase the Sustainability of the Russian Economy under the Sanctions
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues. Yesterday, the President chaired a meeting on economic issues and underscored the fact that it was necessary to prevent a further deterioration in the circumstances facing people and businesses.
The Government is continuing to take action to improve the resilience of the economy to the sanctions.
First, I would like to discuss support for backbone enterprises. The Government is monitoring their well-being with particular care. This does not refer to major projects and substantial investment alone. These companies facilitate high employment rates and have an impact on many affiliated partners.
The Government had drafted special soft loan programmes for these organisations. The funding will primarily replenish their circulating assets. Today, it is highly important to allow leading national manufacturers to quickly restructure their work and to find new suppliers or customers.
We are adopting the relevant decisions stage by stage and with due consideration for the peculiar features of specific sectors. These decisions already encompass various industries, trade and the agro-industrial sector.
We also stipulate measures to support the housing and utilities sector. Rundown networks and systems are a major factor hampering the sector’s further development. This factor often causes accidents and substantial losses in the utilities sector’s potential. Consequently, Russian citizens regularly face unexpected expenses and other everyday problems.
Earlier, the President noted the need for systemic solutions regarding rundown utility networks and systems.
The main reason for the current situation is low profitability of renovation projects. They entail huge investments with low returns.
The Government has decided to allocate low interest loans for major repairs of supply networks. The annual interest rate on them will only be 3 percent. The cost of such projects that allow taking out loans from the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund will be reduced from 100 million to 10 million roubles.
We believe that this will help us increase the safety and quality of utility services and attract the attention of businesses and additional funds to the development of this sector.
Meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission to Increase the Sustainability of the Russian Economy under the Sanctions
Another measure has to do with investment programmes in the heating, water supply and wastewater treatment sector. In light of the current price turbulence, the relevant facilities need time to adjust their plans to equipment costs.
Therefore, we propose to maximally increase the timeframe for adjusting these documents this year. We will set the deadline at the end of the tariff session, that is, on 30 November.
This will allow the companies involved to determine priority investment measures more accurately and to take the necessary steps to attain their targets.
Of course, the Government is developing support measures in the construction, housing and utilities spheres not only for businesses but also for our citizens, the buyers of property and the recipients of consumer services.
The Government previously took several measures to preserve low interest mortgage programmes. One more decision taken within the framework of an additional support package is aimed at ensuring full disclosure of the loan value.
Banks often fail to include the cost of insurance, which the borrower will have to pay anyway.
Full disclosure will allow people to see the real cost of loans, and banks will have to compete with each other to attract borrowers more transparently. People will be able to evaluate their expenditures and choose banks that offer better terms.
Some of the measures from the additional package are aimed at supporting the regions. We plan to increase allocations for the purchase of the medicines and medical products which people can receive at hospitals free of charge.
Despite the changing cost of medicines, medical care must remain of high quality and available to people under all circumstances. This is one of the Government’s main priorities.
It is important to constantly monitor the situation and adjust the amount of indexation in the federal support for the territorial mandatory medical insurance funds, based on the conditions at the time.
Colleagues,
Strategic decisions have been taken on all the above proposals in the additional package. Simultaneously we should follow closely the implementation of current measures, respond promptly to changes in the economy, and adjust the parameters of the programmes that have been approved, in a timely manner.
We have upgraded the rules to support industrial and backbone companies. The borrowing limit is to be raised to 30 billion roubles for them.
Today, we will discuss yet another set of measures. These include reducing regulatory restrictions, encouraging business and investment activities, and supporting transport, agriculture, the construction industry, the physical fitness movement, and sports.
We hope these proposals will help the economy adapt to the new conditions more rapidly, to pass through this period, and respond to today’s challenges.
