Russia's 'Silicon Valley' seeks partners

The Skolkovo Innovation Center is intended to accelerate the transformation of Russia from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy through strategic partnerships with leading scientists and corporations. [Photo/China Daily]

After adding about 30 US and European companies to the list of the organization's chief partners, Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, is looking to China to attract more high-tech partners.

With a mandate from the Russian government and a grant of $5 billion, the foundation is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, which has been dubbed Russia's "Silicon Valley".

"We'd like to attract world famous Chinese corporations, such as Huawei and Lenovo, to establish their research and development centers in Skolkovo," Vekselberg told China Daily.

The high-tech area in the suburbs of Moscow will include the Skolkovo Institute of Technology, a new graduate research university established with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a technology park and a city.

"It will give Chinese companies an opportunity to involve Russian scientists in their research and increase their access to the Russian market," said Vekselberg, adding the companies will also receive other benefits, such as tax and duty privileges and legal support.

"Chinese high-tech companies such as Huawei already have deep penetration in Russia's highly competitive telecommunications market after years of work," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert in Beijing.

However, given the huge consumer market and technical talent pool in Russia, the potential for future growth remains huge, and it gives Chinese investors another option while the European and US markets wrestle with dim prospects, said Xiang.

The foundation signed an agreement with Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park on Tuesday during Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China.

Skolkovo will work primarily on biomedical technology, energy efficiency, information technology and new materials, said the foundation.

Seda Pumpyanskaya, the foundation's vice-president for international relations and communications, said its chief partners were Western corporations, but it had shifted its attention this year toward Asia's emerging economies, especially China.

Skolkovo's key partners include The BoeingCo, Intel Corp, Cisco Systems Inc, Nokia Corp, Siemens AG, General Electric Co and Microsoft.

The foundation is eager to attract Chinese venture capital companies and money to invest in technologies being developed at Skolkovo.

Pumpyanskaya said more than $150 million was invested in Skolkovo last year from external sources.

"This year this sum will be doubled. We are planning that Skolkovo will be able to do without government financing within the next five to seven years," she said.

Investment experts suggested that Chinese investors should closely monitor Russia's economic situation, given the ongoing volatility in exchange rates as the rouble dipped last week to its lowest level in three weeks.

Li Zhongmin, an investment research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Chinese investors are more eager to put money into mature markets such as the United States and Europe.

By the end of last year, China's investment in Russia was $27.6 billion, ranking after those of Cyprus, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany, according to Russia's federal statistics agency.

lanlan@chinadaily.com.cn