Amount to technologies – Newspaper Kommersant No. 163 (7364) of 09/06/2022

The President approved a list of instructions based on the results of the July meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects – the Kremlin requires the deployment of a support system for fast-growing technology companies to quickly close gaps in the technological development of the Russian Federation. In particular, the White House and the Bank of Russia should determine the criteria for fast-growing technology companies and analyze what measures of state support for SMEs can be extended to them. Monitoring technology companies is not easy and requires a comprehensive data collection system, combined with due diligence and subsequent audits, experts point out.

The Kremlin has published a list of Vladimir Putin’s instructions following the July meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects – the document largely supports the proposals made at the council. Recall that, conceptually, the Kremlin seeks from the government to repeat the successes of digitalization in the field of technological development of the Russian Federation. The design, which the White House was instructed to implement, involves the launch of a “factory” for growing technology companies, for which special measures are provided in the form of tax preferences and simplification of attracting funds by them.

The very idea of ​​retargeting instruments oriented towards small and medium-sized businesses to fast-growing high-tech companies at the council was expressed by the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, but this will require an accurate description of such companies. In the Kremlin’s instructions, this is recorded as a requirement for the government and the Bank of Russia to amend the legislation by December 15, providing for the establishment at the legislative level of criteria for identifying fast-growing technology companies, to analyze state support measures, in particular small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), to expand such measures to technological enterprises, and, if necessary, to develop special measures. Also, by November 1, the White House should introduce amendments that provide for the definition of the concept of “technological company” taking into account the mandatory use of innovative technologies in its activities. It is supposed to establish the features and conditions of work of such companies to ensure the targeted nature of their receipt of state support.

Speaking about which organizations can be called fast-growing technology companies, Sergey Izrailit, vice president of the Skolkovo Foundation, notes that growth depends on the size of companies. “For companies with revenue up to 120 million rubles. it is meaningless to determine whether it is growing fast or not, because specific rates do not mean anything. With regard to micro-enterprises, we propose not to use this term, they, by definition, should use all measures of state stimulation of early-stage innovation,” he says. For a company with a revenue of 120 million rubles. up to 2 billion rubles it already makes sense to talk about rapid growth (rates above 25-30% per year), but their growth is usually unstable, it should be estimated on average over several years. Specific parameters should be discussed with the Ministry of Economy, the expert says.

Evgeny Kutsenko, director of the Russian Cluster Observatory Center at the HSE ISSEK, believes that monitoring technology companies, including fast-growing ones, is a step towards a more active technology policy, but it is not so simple. “Existing statistics are practically useless here due to the aggregation of all received data. The relevant information available in financial statements is highly fragmented. In fact, we can judge technological activity only by the lines “results of research and development” and “intangible assets” (IA) of the balance sheet,” the expert says. According to him, a coherent system for identifying and accrediting technology companies, which has been developing in China since at least 2008, and which includes mandatory examination of their technological potential, could be taken as a basis.

Venera Petrova