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Foreign investment plunges in Russia over 2009
Foreign direct investment in Russia fell by 41.1 percent to 15.9 billion dollars in 2009, the Russian statistics service Rosstat said on Saturday in a statement.
Foreign direct investment in Russia fell by 41.1 percent to 15.9 billion dollars in 2009, the Russian statistics service Rosstat said on Saturday in a statement.
Total foreign investment fell by 21 percent, to 81.9 billion dollars (60.1 billion euros).
However, the total foreign capital Russia attracted rose by 1.4 percent compared to 2008, reaching 268.2 billion dollars (196.9 billion euros).
Top foreign investors in Russia last year included Cyprus, (contributing 18.3 percent of the total), followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The United States was Russia's fourth largest investor, but its investment had reduced by 21 percent compared with 2008.
After the economic crisis, which hit Russia hard, investors had withdrawn back billions of dollars from the country.
But Russian authorities estimate that the country, which saw its economy contract by 7.9 percent in 2009, began to emerge from the crisis in the third quarter.
For 2010, Russia's ministry of economic development is counting on a return to growth and a 3.1 percent increase in GDP.
