Foreign investment to Russia lowest since 1994

MOSCOW: The inflow of foreign investment to Russia last year slumped to the level of the mid-90s amid the coronavirus pandemic and low energy prices, the country’s Central Bank has said.

The Central Bank report published on Tuesday showed that Russia received $1.4 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, a 95 percent drop from the previous year’s figure of $29 billion. Over the past several years Russia had seen a gradual reduction of foreign investment against the backdrop of Western sanctions.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the sharp drop in oil prices, one of Russia’s key export products, put further pressure on the economy. According to the Central Bank report, the last time the level of foreign investment was lower than last year was in 1994.