“Confiscation is a covert or overt form of theft, therefore it destroys the investment climate in the jurisdiction in which it occurs,” — said Vladimir Potanin, head of Interros and president of Norilsk Nickel, in an interview with RBC.
The businessman urged that the investment community be given the opportunity to solve the problem of replacing foreign investments with domestic ones instead of applying “confiscation and other harsh measures” to the departed companies. “The countries, let’s say so, of the collective West, which have built their society on certain values, among which the cornerstone was respect for private property, are destroying it, they are doing it in vain, it will hit them, but we don’t need to repeat this. Sometimes it seems to me that Westerners are simply provoking us according to the following formula: we will illegally seize your property, and you seize ours, and we will be quits. I think that this should not be done,” — stressed Vladimir Potanin.
The head of Interros spoke out against nationalization and called for encouraging private activity: “Our government stimulates investment activity in every possible way, I myself partook in several strategic sessions at which our Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, together with other members of the government, looked for opportunities to stimulate this kind of investment.”
“The country has the resources to put the assets of departed companies on a new footing, but it needs conscious, targeted state support for certain industries.”
Further, according to the head of Interros, one should not forget about the importance of attracting partners from friendly countries. Without this, all completely domestic developments will be cut off from international chains of intellectual property creation and technology.
Answering a question about the fate of property of Russians who departed, Mr. Potanin spoke out against its confiscation. “I believe there is no need to punish people who work for our economy from abroad – remotely or otherwise. In general, we need to end this demagoguery. The programmers left, now there is a discussion about whether to let them back.<…> Some of them will return, some will not. Why push them away at all? <...> This is our strength, not weakness, their brains, the ability to produce a product, which, by the way, we are sorely lacking.
“It seems to me that taking away property and stigmatizing people ahead of time is a sign of weakness, and we are a strong country, a strong nation. At least we dream of being perceived that way. Therefore, we must make strong moves, not weak ones,” — said the head of Interros.
Discussing the impact of sanctions on the activities of Norilsk Nickel, the businessman spoke about the change in supply chains and the destruction of settlement systems. However, he immediately noted the possibility of transferring logistics to more friendly countries — in particular, to Morocco, Turkey, Arab countries, and primarily to China, as well as the search for new settlement systems.
The businessman urged that the investment community be given the opportunity to solve the problem of replacing foreign investments with domestic ones instead of applying “confiscation and other harsh measures” to the departed companies. “The countries, let’s say so, of the collective West, which have built their society on certain values, among which the cornerstone was respect for private property, are destroying it, they are doing it in vain, it will hit them, but we don’t need to repeat this. Sometimes it seems to me that Westerners are simply provoking us according to the following formula: we will illegally seize your property, and you seize ours, and we will be quits. I think that this should not be done,” — stressed Vladimir Potanin.
The head of Interros spoke out against nationalization and called for encouraging private activity: “Our government stimulates investment activity in every possible way, I myself partook in several strategic sessions at which our Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, together with other members of the government, looked for opportunities to stimulate this kind of investment.”
“The country has the resources to put the assets of departed companies on a new footing, but it needs conscious, targeted state support for certain industries.”
Further, according to the head of Interros, one should not forget about the importance of attracting partners from friendly countries. Without this, all completely domestic developments will be cut off from international chains of intellectual property creation and technology.
Answering a question about the fate of property of Russians who departed, Mr. Potanin spoke out against its confiscation. “I believe there is no need to punish people who work for our economy from abroad – remotely or otherwise. In general, we need to end this demagoguery. The programmers left, now there is a discussion about whether to let them back.<…> Some of them will return, some will not. Why push them away at all? <...> This is our strength, not weakness, their brains, the ability to produce a product, which, by the way, we are sorely lacking.
“It seems to me that taking away property and stigmatizing people ahead of time is a sign of weakness, and we are a strong country, a strong nation. At least we dream of being perceived that way. Therefore, we must make strong moves, not weak ones,” — said the head of Interros.
Discussing the impact of sanctions on the activities of Norilsk Nickel, the businessman spoke about the change in supply chains and the destruction of settlement systems. However, he immediately noted the possibility of transferring logistics to more friendly countries — in particular, to Morocco, Turkey, Arab countries, and primarily to China, as well as the search for new settlement systems.