Issue price - Newspaper Kommersant No. 171 (7372) of 09/16/2022

Issue price - Newspaper Kommersant No. 171 (7372) of 09/16/2022


The Russian stock market, which has been rapidly developing over the past five years, could become a model of reform, where the main elements were a wide range of financial instruments, primarily foreign ones, as the first step to the market and a way to diversify portfolios, as well as tax incentives, which, against the backdrop of falling interest rates on deposits allowed banks to transform depositors into investors.

In the part that falls within the competence of NAUFOR, the state followed a reasonable policy, which resulted in a sharp increase in the number of retail investors, who became the main ones in the market by the end of 2021, and the intensification of the IPO process, the absence of which the domestic market was previously accused of. At the same time, a large market with a wide range of financial instruments and competition between intermediaries is in itself a protection for investors, no less than all the law enforcement efforts of the Bank of Russia and SROs.

The Russian market has demonstrated its ability to be a source of income, transform savings into investments, assess and distribute risk, and finance the economy. There is no longer any doubt about its importance, its ability to be more efficient than other methods of financing, and also to create competition for them in the interests of the real sector. Yes, the events of the beginning of the year force us to rethink the market development tools, but it differs little from the one already used. The tasks remain the same - to ensure the volume of the market, allowing to finance the economic transformation.

The first is the variety of financial instruments. Unfortunately, unlike the debt market, where refinancing considerations force companies that have borrowed abroad to borrow in Russia, the domestic equity market remains insufficiently diverse and attractive. That is why NAUFOR is against restrictions on the access of unqualified investors to foreign securities and insists that the exit from them should be gradual, despite the risk of blocking. Even in the event of an IPO revival, I would not rely on it as the only way to maintain the diversity of the instrumentation.

Secondly, with the departure of foreign investors, we should keep domestic retailers, that is, give them convincing tax incentives. And there should be no misconceptions - retail investors are not ready for long-term investments and will not accept benefits with a longer tax horizon than before. The role of NPFs, which, in essence, are absent on the stock market, should also be activated. This means a whole reform, including tax incentives, the elimination of break-even requirements and the launch of competition. Only in this case, NPFs, although they will take additional risks, will be able to count on greater profitability.

Third, the participation of foreign investors should not be ruled out. Any financial market relies on global investments, and they are always more than domestic ones. If we want to maintain the competitiveness of the economy, we will have to restore the willingness of foreign investors to invest in the Russian financial market.

The fourth is the preservation of the level of corporate governance, which today, with the departure of foreign investors, the fall in competition with foreign financial instruments that reflect its high standards, as well as the desire to limit access to information, is being tested for strength.

Alexey Timofeev, President of NAUFOR

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