& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

High stakes - yet foreigninvestors bewitched
MOSCOW. June 20: Taxes arc soaring, the rouble is sinking and no one is certain who owns what in the former Soviet Union, yet many foreign businesses remain bewitched by the prospect of tapping into its huge uncharted market, writes Ai’.
Even before Boris N Yeltsin, the Russian President, urged Businessmen in Washington to act quickly, Americans were knocking at the door. The continuing interest has confounded even seasoned Investment advisers In Moscow
"We've nol seen any abatement,'' said Carol Patterson of Baker McKenzie, a US law firm.
Foreign investors "arc so enticed by the size of the market, and by the entreaties of potential Russian investors who want to do business, that they consider ft worthwhile Investing." Patterson said.
Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union have 289 million people eager for Western goods, a highly literate, potentially cheap labour force and vast reserves of oil, gas. coal, timber, gems and precious metals.
Drawbacks abound, however The rouble Is non-convertible and nearly worthless, workers need retraining after 74 years of a command economy and many of the natural resources are difficult lo retrieved and bring to market.
"We are seeing people concluding deals here, but they still are concerned about the
level of taxation and about tne uncertainty, said Stuart Thom, Director of Business Development for Ernst and Young, financial consultants.
New barriers lo foreign Investment seem lo arise daily.
Lawrence Eagleburger, Deputy US Secretary of State, said in a speech in Moscow that unpredictable tax and economic policies were "severely. If not fatally," hampering dealings with US (ompanles
In Washington last week, Yeltsin said his government was trying to correct that. He and President Bush signed a treaty to make it qasler for US companies to invest in Russia and to pave the way for more Joint ventures.
"We are Inviting the private sector of the United States to invest in the unique and untapped Russian market," Yeltsin told Congress. "And 1 am saying: Do not be late."
Discouragement to doing business in Russia include :
A new 60 per cent tax on worldwide personal Income that applies to everyone, Including foreigners. The government Is considering reducing It to 30 per cent because of threats by some companies to pull out.
A 28 per cent value added tax. a form of sales tax. which many foreign businesses refuse to collect.
Uncertainty over who owns land and enterprises. Nczavlslmaya Gaze la (Independent Newspaper) has reported that Yeltsin drafted a decree lo bar or limit foreign investment in a wide range of areas, from real estate lo the mass media, banking, insurance and telecommunications.
Lack of a sound banking system and bankruptcy and Insurance laws. Many foreign businesses lost heavily when the Soviet foreign trade bank went bankrupt last year. Eagleburger noted that the former Soviet Union owed more than 190 million dollar to American companies.
Uncertainty over whether the government will make the rouble convertible this summer.
The high cost of doing business. A recent survey rated Moscow as the 13th most expensive city in the world. Foreigners pay hundreds of times as much for plane tickets and hotels as Russians.
Annual commercial rents of 600 dollar to 700 dollar per square yard (metre) are roughly equal lo those In Tokyo and about double the New York rale, said Michael Oster of Oster and Co, real estate consultants.
General economic and political instability, ranging from rampant Inflation to frequent Cabinet changes and Yeltsin's highly publicized comments that he will not be bullied by the
International Monetary Fund.
So. why are foreigners still so Interested?
Thom said many companies arc looking for new markets because of the recession in North America. Others hope lo take advantage of projects launched by the IMF. World Bank and European Bank for reconstruction and development.
Kim Gelto of PBN. a public relations agency based in San Francisco, said he was encouraged by the recent Improvement of working conditions in Moscow.
More long distance telephone lines have been Installed and a Western-style bank has opened, which means foreigners no longer have to carry suitcases full of cash into the country to do business.
"Ever since Perestroika and the end of th< Cold War ... American companies have felt they could come Into this country," Thom said. "Because of the recession in the states, companies are being forced to look abroad more actively."
He and Patterson said telecommunications and energy companies show the most Interest.
"The larger companies have deep poeketa and they are not going to earn profits for a while," said Oster, the real estate consultant. They are In an Investment phase."