Russian information agency RosBusinessConsulting has held the tenth international conference "The Expansion of Capital: From National Economies to a Transnational Economy" in Hong Kong.

A list of participants was the best indicator of the level of Russia's interest in Hong Kong that has found itself among world leaders in terms of economic growth recently. Among them were Russian Presidential Advisor Andrey Illarionov, CEO of YUKOS Viktor Gerashchenko, Board Member of the Central Bank of Russia Tatyana Paramonova and a number of prominent Russian and foreign businessmen.

One of the main issues raised during the conference was the problem of drawing foreign investments into the Russian economy, creating a mechanism for interacting with international financial institutions, ensuring trust in the economy of Russia and wide investment opportunities in the country. CEO of Renaissance Capital investment group Alexander Shokhin mentioned in his speech that Russia looked quite decent in terms of investment climate. He also expanded on the problems of Russian business connected with the lack of confidence in tax services, and weak political solutions when economic methods is not enough.

The construction industry is among the most dynamic, promising and paying spheres of the Russian economy. In January to June 2004 it saw a 14.3 percent growth, which is way higher than in the fuel and energy industry. According to government's forecasts, the demand for modern and high-quality apartments will keep growing in our country in the future. There is still a huge gap between long-term perspectives and everyday life of Russian business.

The report delivered by Viktor Gerashchenko wasn't that academic. In general words he described the situation with YUKOS and confirmed that the debt might be paid to the Tax Ministry within the next couple of years.

Investors' trust is quite a fragile thing. Serious political decisions, competitive business, high-quality and modern management, as well as various types of international contacts are required to build investors' trust in our economy. In this context, the 10th international business conference hosted by RBC contributed much to deepening a dialog and boosting cooperation between Russian and foreign business circles.