The crisis is the time to invest in innovation
Business FM, 10.10.2008 09:35
The crisis is the time to invest in innovation. This is claimed by both businessmen and scientists taking part in the First International Investment Forum in St. Petersburg. Experts say that investments in the development of new technologies will pay off just by the time the crisis is over. The details are from Business FM journalist Olga Shipsha.
The Russian authorities pay special attention to the innovative development of industry. Even a special state corporation - Rosnanotech - has been created for the development of nanotechnology. The government allocated 130 billion rubles to her last year. Nanotechnology, like other innovations, will be actively developed in the near future, says Dionis Gordin, Managing Director of Rosnanotech:
"Internet technologies, of course, is a kind of locomotive, which is the first in all innovation in Russia. It's convenient, simple, and you don't need a lot of money to launch such projects. Of course, there are many of them. There are always more of them. But the real shift is now coming with high-cost projects. The same technological projects, there are many of them, Rosnanotech has more than 600 applications, of which a couple hundred are quite workable projects with which we can work in the future and receive both product turnover and profits."
However, expensive projects need money. And managers of companies specializing in innovation encourage investors to invest in knowledge-intensive projects. Especially now - in the context of the financial crisis. Oleg Kuzhnikov, Managing Partner of the Liger - Innovations Management Company, speaks:
"As a rule, these are investments of a longer cycle, that is, if they are invested now, then in 3-5 years, when they mature and are ready to exit from the investor's point of view, the situation in the markets will improve. Now is the most ideal time, there would be money."
High-tech companies were the least affected by the stock market crash. And now investing in innovations is a competitive advantage that can help investors get away with economic problems, Mikhail Gevargizov, CEO and owner of Smart Whisker, is sure:
"Until the crisis passes, your innovations will develop, you will have relatively small costs, because everything will be cheap around. At the moment when the crisis passes, your products will be ready to enter the market and you will calmly go to the IPO, so it is best to invest in innovation, due to the fact that the deadline for the completion of just coincides with the end of the crisis."
In addition, in a crisis, it is possible to attract the missing highly qualified personnel to innovative developments. At a not very high price, says Dmitry Vasetinsky, Managing Partner of Alliance-Rosno:
"On the one hand, a crisis is bad, on the other hand, a crisis is always an opportunity to do something, in particular, the opportunity to acquire both assets and attract people at much lower estimates."
Innovative technologies are the future, experts say. The governments of the United States and European countries in a crisis will try to find new ways to develop the economy. And most likely, it will be alternative energy, petrochemicals and nanotechnology. Russia, according to experts, should try to keep up.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru13.10.2008