unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/24/89)
SEMINAR IN MOSCOW MEETS TO DISCUSS FREE ECONOMIC ZONES
Posting Date: 09/24/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Host: (201) 795-0733 ISSN: 1043-7932
NEW YORK, 22 September (UN Centre on Transnational Corporations)
-- A four-day international seminar, organized by the United
Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations and the USSR
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is being held in Moscow to
hear the views of experts and potential investors on the
planning of free economic zones in the Soviet Union. The
meeting, which opened on Tuesday, 19 September, is due to end
today.
More than 400 participants were expected to attend, representing
Soviet republics and local areas which wish to establish free
zones, as well as potential foreign and domestic investors,
government agencies and free-zone enterprises in other centrally
planned economies.
The Soviet Union has permitted direct investment since 1987, but
only through joint ventures. It now plans to establish free
economic zones where foreign firms can produce directly for
Soviet consumers and export abroad. The immediate objective
would be to use foreign direct investment as a resource in
tackling shortages of consumer goods and constraints in
production; to develop new technologies jointly; and to find
outlets for such technologies abroad.
Unlike free zones in some countries, which target the export
market, the Soviet zones would cater primarily to Soviet
consumers. The "zones of joint entrepreneurship", as they are
called in the Soviet Union, are intended to fulfil the needs of
Soviet consumers, including modern technology and high-quality
consumer goods.
Preparations for a zone near Leningrad are the furthest advanced.
To date, 60 free-zone proposals have been presented to the
Government for review. The United Nations Centre on
Transnational Corporations is aiding the Soviet Government in
planning and setting up the zones.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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