Gaidar Forum 2015: Real Dimension of Development

Among the participants in this discussion were President of JSC Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin; President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov; Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov; Chairman of the Board of Directors of TMKH-Servis and Zheldorremmash OJSC Kirill Lipa; General Director of Cotton Way Aleksander Utkin; and President of OMS Victor Nayshuller. The participating experts were Executive Chairman of the East Office of Finnish Industries Esko Aho, who had been Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995; Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) Vladimir Mau; Senior Advisor to the Mayor of the City of Dusseldorf Juergen Buessow; and Vice-President for Finance of NLMK Group Grigory Fedorishin.

The following issues were addressed in the course of the discussion: is outsourcing really needed by state companies and budget organizations; who is better adaptable to technological development – businesses or the State; the outsourcing of the services of state companies and budget organizations as a promising niche in the economy for promoting business activity.

In the framework of the afternoon panel discussion titled The Investment Ratings of Russia: In Search of Impartial Evaluation, the following issues were raised: do ratings stimulate or hinder investment activity; the strengths and weaknesses of the currently applied systems for investment climate evaluation in Russia; the impact of economic sanctions on Russia's position in international investment ratings; the ways to ensure high ratings in conditions of an unstable economy; the mechanisms for equalizing the conditions for doing business in Russian regions. The discussion was moderated by Alexander Ivlev, Country Managing Partner for Russia of EY.
The panel discussion was also joined by Aide to President of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov; Governor of Tula Oblast Vladimir Gruzdev; and Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Stanislav Voskresensky.

The evening panel discussion was titled New Challenges for Banking Systems. Its moderator was Director General of Otkritie Holding OAO Ruben Aganbegyan. The discussion was joined by Aleksey Simanovsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia; President of Narodowy Bank Polski (Republic of Poland) Marek Belka; Chairman of J.P.Morgan Chase International (and Governor of the Bank of Israel (State Bank) in 1991–2000) Jacob Frenkel; Professor of Columbia School of International and Public Affairs Charles W. Calomiris; First Vice President of Gazprombank Ekaterina Trofimova; Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank Oleg Vyugin; and Director of Bank Saint-Petersburg OJSC Major Corporate Clients Directorate Andrey Belykh.

The participants discussed the role of central banks in the global economy, the prospects of a switchover to Basel III in Russia and the world at large; shadow banking and its relation to the traditional banking sector; the main contours and sustainability prospects of Russia's banking system; the problems and prospects for the development of Russia's national payment system; and the influence of sanctions on the national financial sector.