Foreign Direct Investment in a Stagnant Economy: Recent Experience of FDI in Manufacturing Facilities in Russia

Abstract This study presents a snapshot of investment projects in manufacturing that were implemented by foreign investors in Russia during 2017–2018. We assemble a unique database of all new plants opened by foreign companies in Russia during 2012–2018 to clarify the distribution of investment projects implemented during 2017–2018 across industries and territories with different tax regimes. We also identify the most interesting individual investment projects, interrelated investment projects, and elements of collective actions. In general, foreign investors in manufacturing demonstrate high ingenuity in discovering and exploiting the remaining emerging growing market segments and promising niches in consumer and professional markets and express significant persistence in realizing investment projects. We also demonstrate the methods applied to decrease the uncertainty of the project costs by establishing partnerships with local foreign- and domestically owned companies and the attempts to correct the government’s decisions and regulatory measures that are uncomfortable for foreign investors.