Investment Memorandum of the Kostroma Region
Chapter 1. General Provisions
1. Investment Memorandum of the Kostroma Region (hereinafter – the Memorandum) establishes main priorities for the development and support of investment activity in the Kostroma Region.
2. The Memorandum aims to achieve strategic target of the Kostroma Region Administration - the organization and development of competitive, efficient and socially-oriented economy of the Kostroma Region.
3. Kostroma regional authorities, the structural subdivisions of the Kostroma Region Administration implementing regional investment policy and contributing to investment projects implementation at the territory of Kostroma Region are responsible for implementation of this Memorandum.
4. The Memorandum can be used as the basis for development and establishment of plans on the investment activity by subjects of the investment activity.
Chapter 2. Subjects of the Investment Activity
5. The subjects of the investment activity are investors, customers, contractors, users of objects of the investment activity and other participants of the investment process. The subjects of the investment activity can be individuals and legal entities, including foreign ones, as well as national and international organizations.
Chapter 3. Interaction of Subjects of the Investment Activity
6. The order of interaction of subjects of the investment activity is established in the framework of current legislation and defined by regulations created by subjects of the investment activity in accordance with international contracts of the Russian Federation, federal laws and other legal acts of the Russian Federation, laws and other legal acts of the Kostroma Region, legal acts of local authorities of the Kostroma Region.
Chapter 4. Main Directions of the Investment Policy
7. Main directions of the investment policy of the Kostroma Region are:
1) creation of favourable investment climate in the Kostroma Region;
2) information and personnel support of the investment activity;
3) improvement of legislative basis of the Kostroma Region that regulates the investment activity;
4) transition of Kostroma Region economy to the stage of innovative development;
5) improvement of mechanism of investment attraction;
6) improvement of the efficiency of state support of the investment activity;
7) improvement of support for the effective investment projects on production of competitive products;
8) development of infrastructure for the investment activity;
9) implementation of ecologically clean (wasteless) technologies, use of modern high-performance systems for water and air purification and recycling - the ecologization of industrial production;
10) increasing the level of investment attraction in high-technology industries;
11) energy-saving technologies, information and communication technologies and electronics, new materials and chemical technologies;
12) creation of favourable conditions for mobilization of internal investment resources and increasing the flow of foreign investment resources and modern technologies in the Kostroma Region's economy;
13) expansion of investment sources;
14) measures for information coverage of opportunities of the Kostroma Region, including information about the investment opportunities, investment projects and investment proposals of the Kostroma Region in mass media and on the Internet;
15) alignment of starting conditions for the investment process in municipal districts of the Kostroma Region with different levels of social-and-economic development;
16) formation and informing on investment opportunities in Kostroma Region’s areas;
17) development of public-private partnerships as the key mechanism for investment attraction for infrastructure, social projects and projects in the sphere of housing and utility services;
18) improvement of cluster approach based on:
creation and development of regional industrial clusters;
creation and development of industrial parks;
development of public-private partnerships;
active work between Kostroma Region Administration and federal institutions (Investment Fund of the Russian Federation, State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs”, OJSC "Rusnano", etc.), venture capital funds, ministries and departments for innovative economy creation and efficient infrastructure-business climate development;
19) mechanisms for investment projects promotion according to the opportunities of investment institutions.
Chapter 5. Principles of the Investment Policy
8. The investment policy of the Kostroma region is based on the following principles:
1) support of the investment activity
Favorable conditions for investment projects implementation in the Kostroma Region in accordance with current legislation, state support for investment projects implementation.
Investment sites with necessary infrastructure or sites that can be equipped for requirements of the particular investor.
2) creation of equal conditions for Russian and foreign investors
Creation of equal conditions for both Russian and foreign investors. Interest in companies focused on further business expansion in the Kostroma Region, regardless of what country they represent.
3) right of the investor for free choice of contractor
Strict observance of the right of the investor for free choice of contractors, suppliers and other partners, non-interference in financial and economic activity of the investor implementing the project in Kostroma Region.
4) reduction of administrative barriers
Reduction of administrative barriers, minimization of corruption risks, as well as development of the "One Window" principle and providing public and municipal services in electronic form.
5) protection of rights of the investor
Guarantor of protection of the investor’s rights in Kostroma Region is the Governor of Kostroma Region. Protection against adoption of legal acts of the Kostroma Region that can deteriorate investors’ positions in the Kostroma Region, as well as protection against illegal actions by the public authorities of the Kostroma Region and local authorities of municipal districts of the Kostroma Region are guaranteed to investors.
6) development of human resources
Creation of necessary conditions for providing the investment projects with skilled personnel, assistance in creation of new specialties in the educational institutions of the Kostroma Region for investors’ requirements.
7) cooperation and constructive dialogue with business and investment subjects
Discussion on issues related to the implementation of the investment activity in Kostroma Region and organization of licensing procedures with investors is encouraged in order to improve and actualize current legislation of the Kostroma Region in the sphere of regulation of the investment activity.
8) transparency
Ensuring the transparency of information on the activities of public authorities of the Kostroma Region, local authorities of municipal districts of the Kostroma Region and free access to legislative basis of the Kostroma Region.
Chapter 6. Procedure of Working with Investors
9. Every investor is accompanied by responsible specialists of the Kostroma Region Administration, executive public authorities of the Kostroma Region and local authorities of municipal districts of the Kostroma Region in order to provide the investor with information materials required for solutions development, arranging business meetings, advising on issues related to investment projects implementation, providing necessary legal procedures for investment projects coordination with the Development Strategy of the Kostroma Region at all stages of the investment projects implementation.
10. The procedure of working with investors includes pre-investment and investment stages of project’s implementation.
11. Main directions of pre-investment stage of project’s implementation are:
1) providing the potential investor with information on the possibility of location of the proposed investment project (investment sites, operating enterprises interested in consideration of the proposition on cooperation, etc.), social and economic climate in Kostroma Region, transport schemes, human resources of Kostroma Region and municipal districts, natural resources, etc.;
2) organizational support of the investor in visiting the investment sites in Kostroma Region in order to coordinate negotiations (with local authorities, natural monopolies, potential partners, etc.);
3) advising investors on issues related to the investment projects implementation, possibilities that the investor can use during the period of project’s implementation (cooperation with operating enterprises of Kostroma Region, joint ventures creation, etc.);
4) possibility of signing of the protocol and (or) agreement of intent between Kostroma Region Administration and the investor, that includes:
targets of signing of the protocol and (or) agreement of intent;
general characteristics of the project (before selecting of a land plot);
obligations of the parties related to information exchange, assisting the investor by Kostroma Region Administration on clarification of project’s characteristics;
order of interaction between the parties in the course of clarification of the project’s characteristics;
list of measures aimed to objectives achievement;
procedure, terms and conditions of entering into agreement on the investment project’s implementation (the investment agreement);
5) presentation of the investment project.
12. The procedure of working with investors at the investment stage of project’s implementation, as well as the procedure of granting the state support in accordance with the current legislation is expounded in the Investor’s Guide, which is represented on the Internet at the Portal of Kostroma Regional Authorities (http://www.adm44.ru) and the Investment Portal of Kostroma Region (http://www.investkostroma.ru).
Chapter 7. Forms of State Support of the Investment Activity
13. State support in Kostroma Region is granted to subjects of the investment activity in the following forms:
1) exemption from property tax during the payback period of the investment project, but no longer than the estimated payback period;
2) reduction of income tax rate, payable to the Kostroma Region budget, from 18 to 13.5% during the payback period of the project;
3) tax and other benefits provided by local authorities;
4) support of petitions and appeals of investors to federal public authorities, that regulates pricing for natural monopolies’ services, banks and other financial and credit institutions, on the application with respect to them of most-favoured-nation treatment;
5) organizational support of the investment projects;
6) providing an investment tax credit in accordance with the legislation on taxes and fees;
7) providing subsidies to legal entities (with the exception of subsidies to state (municipal) institutions), individual entrepreneurs and individuals (manufacturers of goods, works and services) in accordance with the budget legislation on gratuitous and irrevocable basis in order to recover costs on production (sales) of goods, works, and services;
8) using the lower limits of payment for Kostroma Region resources (including rent) for investment objects in accordance with current legislation;
9) other forms of state support provided by the current legislation of the Kostroma Region.
