OREANDA-NEWS By the end of 2023, the total volume of foreign venture investments in Russian business projects collapsed 15 times and dropped to $ 55 million in monetary terms. This is reported by the Kommersant newspaper with reference to data from the Moscow Innovation Agency.

At the same time, 73 percent ($40 million) of foreign investors invested in one company engaged in the development of ultrathin smart contact lenses. For comparison, in 2022, the total volume of foreign investments in promising Russian business projects was estimated at $ 814 million.

In general, the venture capital investment market in Russia amounted to $ 118.2 million by the end of 2023. In 12 months, the indicator has decreased by more than 10 times. In 2022, the size of such investments in the Russian economy was estimated at $ 1.252 billion. Thus, in January-December, the indicator reached a historic low over the past seven years, experts summarized.

In the first half of February, the RBC publication, with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Finance, announced the agency's intention to simplify business registration for foreigners in order to increase the inflow of foreign investment. It was clarified that such an initiative could affect, among other things, legal entities from unfriendly countries.