Huge tax breaks for Eastern Siberia on agenda - Putin

Vladimir Putin told the closing press conference of the APEC summit in Vladivostok that 'free economic zones' could be set up, and that he had been speaking to his top economic adviser Elvira Nabiullina, a former Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

'I discussed it with Elvira Nabiullina yesterday - I mean tax benefits for the projects, started from the zero level,' he was quoted saying by Itar-Tass.

'We shall be considering it now, and I shall ask the government to present their suggestions,' he added.

'At the same time, there are certain other suggestions, but I believe it is too early to be speaking about them in public. It would be possible to speak about them when everything is verified and agreed'.

Putin also revealed he feared the misuse of tax concessions.

'There is a big temptation of organising here, in the big space, free economic zones,' he said. 'But minding the talent of our people, there are fears the entire economy here will be re-registered.'

The summit was angled around promoting growth and energising the markets.

'We remain committed to reducing imbalances by strengthening deficit economies' public finances with sound and sustainable policies that take into account evolving economic conditions and, in economies with large current account surpluses, by strengthening domestic demand and moving toward greater exchange rate flexibility,' said the summit declaration.

Putin, who hosted the summit, said the session had identified 'new horizons and, most importantly, to give a positive signal to the business community'.

With Russia's placing an increasing stress on the possibilities for growth and expansion from engaging with the Pacific rim and Asia, the president said the summit would help 'remove barriers, and promote open markets and private competition'.

He emphasised that Siberia would gain pointing to the prospects from engagement with China. 

'You know how active the Russian Federation is in China. We count on future cooperation - not only in production, but also in science. We have the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where specialists are actively involved in promoting innovative technologies.'