10.01.2018, Moscow.
On January 9, French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire stated in his interview to the Vedomosti newspaper that France needs to support French medium and small businesses in the Russian market.
The Minister noted that at the present time France, through BPI France bank, supporting Yamal LNG project in the form of a guaranty of 350 million euros. BPI France is a state bank the activity of which is aimed at supporting small and medium businesses (SMBs) and development of innovation.
Bruno Le Maire stated that France will adhere to the sanctions regime rigorously, however, there are opportunities for improvement of the cooperation within the sanctions framework too. He also noted that the consequences of sanctions are discussed with the American side.
The Minister also said that they place much importance on the presense of large French companies in the Russian market. Even if these are private companies, they still have discussions with them. Le Maire emphasized the importance of Sukhoi SuperJet 100 project and participation of two French companies, Safran and Thales, in the project. He also noted the participation of EDF in the Russian atomic power industry.
However, Bruno Le Maire thinks that the main direction of improvement of the cooperation with Russia is the development of SMBs. “If we want to actually be successful and increase the presense of French companies in Russia, it is exactly the SMBs that must become our base, these companies are key to the development of economic contacts between Russia and France in the future,” he said. The Minister shared plans on passing a law next year, which will encourage rise in exports of French companies.
Le Maire sees practical help to business development in services and financial guaranties from the side of BPI France. In his opinion, the main question of SMB development is financial. It is exactly this question that has some difficulties on the solution of which the French authorities are working.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
