The conditions for investors in the Far East are traditionally the best on the market. The Russian president’s instructions to develop master plans has further increased investment activity and opportunities and prompted investors and banks to focus on projects that are crucial for the macro-region. Today, it is clear that a substantial amount of extra-budgetary funds are needed to implement the goals that have been set as a result of master planning. Responsibility for providing and structuring the funding falls on the shoulders of banks and development institutions. What financial instruments are needed today to implement infrastructure projects in the Far East? How are entrepreneurs implementing investment projects with such high interest rates and volatility? What role do banks and national development institutions play in achieving the effectiveness of projects in the Far East as part of goals that have been set for the year 2030?

Moderator:
Alexander Vedyakhin — First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank

Speakers:
Aleksandr Babakov — Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
Artem Dovlatov — Deputy Chairman, VEB.RF
Vladislav Kuznetsov — Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Region
Nikita Stasishin — Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation
Ilya Torosov — First Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
Artem Fedorko — Chairman of the Management Board, DOM.RF Bank
Georgy Fotin — General Director, Baimskaya Management LLC
Alexey Chekunkov — Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic (online)

One way to stimulate growth in the Russian economy is to help medium-sized business become large businesses. A study by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives has shown SME+ (revenue between 2 and 20 billion) to be one of the primary consumers of breakthrough technologies and scientific developments in production and an important link between larger businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. There are currently more than 15,000 enterprises in Russia that could be classified as SME+, and 25,000 with the potential to become larger businesses (with revenue between 800,000 and 2 billion). A package of stimulus measures from the government could help businesses in the medium-sized and SME+ segments grow. In turn, limited access to capital is a key factor hindering growth in the SME+ segment. When they cross the 2 billion threshold, companies lose a wide range of benefits and support measures, and to keep growing they often need to increase production capacity significantly, a thing impossible without additional funding. What instruments for raising capital are best suited to the SME+ segment? What should an entrepreneur choose in the long term: stock market instruments or lending? Is preferential lending effective for SME+, and if so, for which industries? What is the role of big business in stimulating growth in SME+?

Moderator:
Andrey Shubin — Executive Director, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA RUSSIA

Speakers:
Dmitry Alexeev — General Director, DNS Group
Egor Bespyatov — Director, Yakov and Partners
Aleksandr Vaino — Director of the "Young Professionals" department, Agency of Strategic Initiatives (ASI)
Aleksandr Isayevich — General Director – Chairman of the Management Board, Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation
Alfia Kogogina — First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Small and Medium Entrepreneurship
Denis Kravchenko — Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Economic Policy
Mikhail Mamuta — Head of Service for Protection of Consumer Rights and Ensuring the Availability of Financial Services, Member of the Board of Directors, The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)

Russia and China are among the world’s top five largest greenhouse gas emitters, and the success of their efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 will largely determine the extent to which the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement will be achieved. China has a national greenhouse gas emissions trading system, while Russia has introduced mandatory carbon reporting and is conducting an emissions trading experiment on Sakhalin island. The two countries are trying to find the most effective regulatory solutions that will help to achieve comprehensive decarbonization taking into account their own specific national circumstances, while also continuing to implement economic growth and development plans. Given the growing rate of carbon regulation, Russian and Chinese companies have a great opportunity to build cooperation in supplying resources and exchanging technology, which are crucial to implementing the ambitious climate goals. What challenges and opportunities does cooperation in low-carbon development create for companies? Could carbon regulation be used to increase competitiveness and penetrate new markets? How can we ensure the mutual recognition and comparability of measures and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Moderator:
Andrey Sharonov — Chief Executive Officer, National ESG-Alliance

Speakers:
Anna Karzhavina — Director of Commercialization of the Palladium Technology Center, Norilsk Nickel
Igor Makarov — Head of the Laboratory for the Economics of Climate Change, National Research University Higher School of Economics (online)
Milena Milich — Special Representative of the Governor for Climate and Sustainable Development of the Sakhalin Region
Elena Myakotnikova — Member of the Executive Committee, Director of Sustainable Development, RUSAL
ZhongXiang Zhang — Founding Dean, Professor, Ma Yinchu School of Economics, Tianjin University (TJU) (online)
Yuliya Shabala — Deputy General Director for Sustainable Development and Corporate Affairs, Udokan Copper
Alexander Shokhin — President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (online)

An in-depth discussion needs to be held about certain key issues concerning international commercial arbitration, taking into account the experience of arbitration institutions in Russia, China, India, Singapore, and other Asia-Pacific countries, as well as expanded cooperation in such matters. What are the main focuses in the drafting of legislation on international commercial arbitration in Asia-Pacific countries? How is foreign law and language being applied to resolve international commercial disputes? What are some of the specific aspects of dispute resolution concerning merchant shipping? How can we apply digital technologies to resolve foreign economic disputes? What are the best practices for enforcing the decisions of international commercial arbitrations in the territories of Asia-Pacific countries?

Moderator:
Sergey Katyrin — President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Speakers:
Anna Arkhipova — Deputy Chairman, Maritime Arbitration Commission at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (video message)
Hemant Gupta — Chairman, Indian International Arbitration Center (video message)
Alexey Kostin — Chairman, The International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (video message)
Igor Krasnov — Chief Lawyer, Head of the Legal Unit, VEB.RF
Prashant Kumar — President, The Bar Association of India (online)
Dmitriy Podshibyakin — Director, Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation
Natalia Prisekina — Executive Secretary, Branch of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in Vladivostok
Cunyuan Zhang — Head (China), Singapore International Arbitration Centre

In the current politico-economic situation, Russian exports are being reorientated toward BRICS countries and this trend is set to continue. For safe entry by Russian exporters onto foreign markets and long-term operation, goods and technology exporters’ intellectual property needs protection. The main holders of foreign patents to innovative technology in BRICS countries today are China, the USA, Japan, Korea and Germany. The lack of protection of exported Russian goods and technology risks their use being banned on the given territories. The Russian President has set the main tracks: by 2030, the volume of non-resource non-energy exports (NRE) from Russia must rise by at least 2/3 over 2023, and Russia must join the Top-10 global leaders in the volume of scientific research and development. How can the current risks be overcome in the IP sphere and exporters be protected? How much is the investment appeal of a project boosted by foreign patents to technologies and trademarks? What measures to create special mechanisms should be supported by the BRICS countries?

Moderator:
Dmitry Orlov — Advisor to the Director, Investment Promotion Fund "RK-Investments"

Speakers:
Vladimir Avdeenko — Deputy Executive Director – Director of Agrobiotechnologies, Innopraktika
Alexander Zainigabdinov — Head of the Beijing office of China Window Consulting Group, arbitrator of the Shanghai International Arbitration Center
Igor Krasnov — Chief Lawyer, Head of the Legal Unit, VEB.RF
Igor Maksimtsev — Rector, Saint Petersburg State University of Economics
Elena Myakotnikova — Member of the Executive Committee, Director of Sustainable Development, RUSAL