OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2011. The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation considered and approved in the first reading a draft Federal Law “On Introducing Amendments to No. 57-FZ Federal Law “On the Procedures for Foreing Investment in the Business Entities of Strategic Importance to the National Defence and State Security” of 29th April 2008, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Amendments drafted by the Federal Antimonopoly Service simplify the procedures for preparation of petitions by for foreing investors, increase transparency of the procedures for consideration of petitions and eliminate excessive administrative barriers for foreing investors completing transactions involving strategic business entities.

The draft law comprises the following main changes:

- Banking activities related to cryptography are eliminated from the types of activities that are considered of strategic importance and are specified in Article 6 of the law;

- The law clarifies the procedures for completing transactions within the same group of persons under the exceptions established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;

- The law reduces the range of strategic types of activities that are subject to preliminary control and are exercised by the banks, in which the Russian Federation is a participant;

- Clarification of the norms of the law that enable extending the exceptions established by No. 57-FZ Federal Law with regard to subsoil use for the transactions completed as part of additional issue, as a result of which the rights of foreing investors for management of shares of a strategic business entity do not increase;

- Clarification of the requirements for the package of documents to be enclosed by a foreing investor to a petition, which will help eliminate petitioners’ errors when disclosing the essence of a planned transaction.

“Adopting the amendments to the law on foreing investments that are drafted by FAS Russia will allow eliminating some typical errors in preparation and filing petitions by foreing investors and will clarify the procedures for preliminary approval of the transactions”, said Deputy Head of FAS Russia Andrey Tsyganov.