Fellow investors!
The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a draft law "On Investment Partnership", which will allow creating a new form of doing business.
Source: RBC daily (published on RUSNANO's website)
A new form of doing business may appear in Russia
Perhaps in the near future it will become easier for companies to implement their investment projects. The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a draft law "On Investment Partnership", which will allow creating a new form of doing business by analogy with the Western LP (Limited Partnership). With the adoption of the new document, business will receive the most important thing – the state's attention to projects and, consequently, rapid financing, experts say.
The market gave the idea to create a new organizational and legal form, and the Ministry of Economic Development (MAYOR) acted as a guide, according to Ivan Oskolkov, Director of the Corporate Governance Department of the MAYOR. He said that on behalf of the government commission on innovations, the ministry, together with RUSNANO and RVC, has already prepared a bill and sent it to other departments. Now the document is being actively discussed, including in the relevant committee of the State Duma. According to Mr. Oskolkov, when starting an innovative business, all the current organizational and legal forms are not very convenient and carry an additional burden on the business, which representatives of the venture business and market participants are not ready for. Andrey Sharonov, Managing Partner of Troika Dialog, emphasizes that corporate legislation is now a key factor in the investment attractiveness of the state, but over 20 years of functioning of Russian corporate law, "not all elements have been built yet."
According to the developers of the bill, the new form can become an analogue of the Western LP (Limited Partnership), that is, a "limited partnership". "The idea of investment partnership is the idea of creating a new, convenient form of doing business, in particular innovative. An organizational form of functioning of venture funds should be created, understandable for international investors, allowing to organize the entire complex system of relationships between partners, regulating the procedure for creating a fund without forming a legal entity and without bureaucratic delays, dispute resolution, providing for the procedure for closing the fund," RUSNANO says.
"In order for the new form not to duplicate the LLC, its features should lie in limiting the participation of partners in other businesses," Mr. Oskolkov emphasizes. Dmitry Skripichnikov, Deputy Director of the Corporate Governance Department of the MAYOR, adds that one of the differences between the new form and the LLC will be a more flexible formation of the authorized capital.
According to Russian legislation, it is formed within a year, the new law will allow to stretch the process for several years. Meanwhile, representatives of the MAYOR note that there are still some controversial points in the discussion of the document. "For the development of innovative activity, flexible forms of property structuring and management of this property are needed," explained Mr. Skripichnikov. – Therefore, the fundamental question that needs to be solved now is in what form this form will function – corporate or contractual." According to him, it can be a "simple partnership agreement without the formation of a legal entity," or it can be a special organizational and legal form.
FLC lawyer Ekaterina Bryazgina recalls that in December last year, legislative changes introduced the need for partners to conclude a simple partnership agreement or another similar form. But there was no regulation of this agreement. Perhaps that is why the executive branch decided on a new bill. "The norm of a simple partnership is very inconvenient for independent companies, since it provides for joint liability of the parties for obligations," emphasizes Ms. Bryazgina.
But the main thing in the new document is not even legal relief. "The state, as a rule, allocates funds to large investment projects, but it needs to be "reached", so even large companies in Russia have to unite so that the project is more complex and deserves more attention from officials," explains Ekaterina Bryazgina. Perhaps now the business will have a chance to quickly receive the long-awaited funds for investment projects.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru15.04.2010