International law firms in Asia, and elsewhere, should consider attending the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on 6-7 September 2017.
A previous article in this blog identified the Russian Far East as one of the five Asian legal markets that we expect to provide the best growth opportunities for law firms through 2021 and beyond. (The others are the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Iran.) We also reported, on 30 October 2016, how Korean investment and interest in the region has remained high.
Three recent developments are noteworthy:
- Earlier this week, on 10 May 2017, the Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, announced a plan to invest an additional 50 billion rubles (US$ 875 million) to further the development of Advanced Special Economic Zones in the Far East. This money will be used primarily to fund the government contribution to public-private partnerships to build roads, power grids, and utilities infrastructure.
- On 4 May 2017, Metropoly Holdings, which is a consortium of Asian investors, created two direct investment funds. totalling US$ 10 billion, jointly with the Russian Far East Development Fund to invest in mining, infrastructure, real estate, and tourism.
- On 28 April 2017, the Far East and Baikal Region Development Fund, the Far East Investment and Export Agency, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation set up a platform to attract and facilitate Japanese investment in the Advanced Special Economic Zones and in the Free Port of Vladivostok.
The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East will hold the next annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on 6-7 September 2017. Registration and other information about the conference is available at the Eastern Economic Forum website. We recommend this event to law firms, especially in southern and eastern Asia, that have clients who might be interested in investment or business operations in the Russian Far East. Not only is it a good networking opportunity at a very high level, but it also can give law firms the up-to-date market intelligence and insights that could be tremendous added value in the advice that they give to their clients.
Norman Clark
Neither Walker Clark LLC nor any of its principals have any financial interest in, or financial relationship with, the Eastern Economic Forum or any government agencies sponsoring or organizing the event.
