Information for investors

The administration of the Chelyabinsk Oblast considers the enhancement of the region’s investment activity to be one of its top priorities.
Since 2001, Chelyabinsk has been the venue for the Ural Investment Forum. The Forum brings together over 300 participants that represent different countries of the world, among which are the USA, Austria, Hungary, and Ukraine.

The region has adopted a Law "On Encouraging the Investment Activity." The Law determines the principles of the investment policy of the Oblast, consolidates the investors' rights, and outlines the forms of the state support.

The most efficient form of the state support for investors is a partial reimbursement of interest expenses for using bank loan facilities. The Chelyabinsk Oblast was one of Russia’s pioneers in applying this experience. In 2007, the assistance in the amount of 20 million Rubles was provided to 72 companies.
Every year, a catalogue of investment projects in the Chelyabinsk Oblast is published; it contains information on the availability of vacant plots of land with a confirmed infrastructure.

In 2008, the capital investment in companies of all forms of ownership has amounted to nearly 167 billion Rubles. The volume of foreign investment has increased more than 2-fold as compared to 2007, and amounted to 2.85 billion U.S. Dollars. The key economic activity for foreign investors is metal works and manufacturing of finished metal products. More than 90% of the total foreign investment volume is concentrated in this sector. Geographically, foreign investors represent 49 countries of the world. The leaders are Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the UK, Germany, and the USA.
In Kopeysk, the construction of two facilities with the participation of British companies’ capital has begun: Castorama, a building materials hypermarket, and a logistics centre with an area of 250 thousand square metres, with an investment volume of nearly 200 million U.S. Dollars.
Such well-known companies as Henkel, Carboceramics, Rexam, Lafarge, and others operate in the region. A total of nearly 100 companies with foreign investment do business in the Oblast.

Moody's Interfax rating agency has confirmed the Oblast’s rating on the national scale at the level of Aa1.ru – a very high creditworthiness. In 2008, Expert RA rating agency has granted the Chelyabinsk Oblast the highest award in a special nomination “For the minimum integral investment risk in its federal district”. Expert RA has established the Oblast’s investment rating at the level of 2B, medium potential – moderate risk.