What are market conditions for Capital goods / Equipment / Raw Materials?
The prime factor governing the market for capital goods, equipment and raw materials is the state of Russian industry. While some sectors of Russian manufacturing are now picking up, the industry is not very healthy. Industry suffers from lack of capital (and high interest rates and the difficulty in borrowing for the medium- to long-term) and from cash-flow problems. It can be very difficult for domestic manufacturers to pay for equipment, new advanced technologies or raw materials and local financing is usually hard to find. Foreign-invested manufacturing operations usually source equipment and materials directly from overseas. Distribution and local service and support are other very important issues. The result is that much of Russian imports in this area are financed by foreign aid or loans (often part of an explicit program and hard for outsiders to break into) or are part of an explicit Joint Venture. In fact, we commonly advise companies, rather than just trying to sell equipme
