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Sustainability Report 2013

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Support to Innovative Projects

We consider improvements to the quality of the development bank’s loan portfolio as our strategic priority. This objective is primarily achieved by increasing the number of innovation-oriented projects. In parallel, the Bank sees its goal in building a consistent and balanced framework to support the innovation-driven social and economic growth of Russia through interaction with other development institutions. Vnesheconombank is fully involved in building the Skolkovo innovation centre, unique for Russia, that seeks to embed advanced technologies and competitive world-class know-how into the Russian economy.

Innovation development

One of the focus areas of the Innovative Development Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2020 provides for setting up an innovation-driven infrastructure that will include new financial mechanisms to support innovative projects. This is a pre-requisite for Russia to address its ambitious long-term development goals seeking to ensure a high social welfare level and cement the country’s geopolitical role as a global decision maker.

The Innovative Development Strategy of Russia assigns Vnesheconombank the leading role in targeted financing of high-tech and innovation investment projects. Their share is expected to be at least 15-20% of the Bank’s loan portfolio. We have already achieved these targets, with our loan portfolio consisting by more than one third of innovation development projects already by the end of 2013. At the same time, the Bank is intending to build up its rates of support to those projects that reinforce the leadership and innovative potential of the Russian economy.

Since the Development Bank’s inception, Vnesheconombank’s management has approved engagement in 76 innovation development projects with a total value — RUB 1.5 tn and Vnesheconombank’s commitment coming at RUB 791.7 bn.

As of late 2013, we financed 57 innovation development projects with a total value of RUB 1.1 tn through credit facilities, with Vnesheconombank’s commitment standing at RUB 626.7 bn, and 3 projects with a total value of RUB 118.0 bn through equity investment, with Vnesheconombank’s commitment standing at RUB 65.4 bn.

Success story

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Construction of a Data Centre in Saint Petersburg

Project initiator: Stack Data Network LLC

Total project value: RUB 3.1 bn

Vnesheconombank’s commitment: RUB 2.2 bn

The project is planned to  bring 70 new jobs

Tax receipts are expected to be  RUB 1.3 bn

The project provides for construction and commissioning of a data centre in Saint Petersburg under a patented StackKUB technology. The data centre will host 1,476 stands and, along with standard telecommunication and telematic services, will offer its customers a brand new product for Russia: an out-of-the-box individual “room” (a calculation cell or sector) for lease that serves to organise a node of corporate computing and telecommunication network secured against unauthorised access. The infrastructure built under the project will handle the entire range of tasks faced by customers’ IT functions while offering the highest information security level.

The project is intended to support ICT innovations, which will:

  • ensure high reliability and continuity of IT business processes by fundamentally enhancing efficiency of large businesses across all economic sectors;
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  • enhance the national information security by confining data flows and resources within the country;
  • promote the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises by lowering the financial barrier for access to highly efficient IT solutions.

The project’s implementation will provide the emerging Russian economy with the necessary business and info-communication infrastructure. The first stage of the commercial data centre was launched in January 2014.

Support to regional innovative development

Vnesheconombank actively supports the innovative development of Russian regions as part of initiatives implemented in partnership with leading Russian and international development institutions. They include the joint project with the World Bank aiming to work out a strategy for the innovation-driven development of Russian regions and assess the investment efficiency.

We are also implementing the Development of a Russian Innovative National Observatory project in partnership with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), OJSC Russian Venture Company and the Fund for Infrastructure and Educational Programmes. The key objective of the Observatory is to build a system of indicators to assess the status of the innovative framework for regions that would capture their specific parameters and needs so as to work out measures seeking to advance the innovative strategy implementation in regions. In 2013, the Bank signed the Memorandum on Implementation of the Second Stage of the Project designed to improve regional innovative systems in Russia and build financing instruments for innovative and next generation technology projects.

Support to Skolkovo Foundation projects

In 2011, Vnesheconombank established the VEB Innovations Fund to invest in high-tech projects of the Skolkovo Foundation. The Fund’s strategically focuses on supporting the development of innovative programmes of the Russian Government, building an innovation infrastructure, assisting acquisition of advanced international technologies by Russia and promoting Russian innovations in the global market.

The VEB Innovations Fund works with projects from 5 Skolkovo clusters, with IT projects accounting for the largest share in the portfolio (65%), followed by biotechnological and pharmaceutical projects (23%).



Success story

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GLOBALLAB. Global School Laboratory

Initiator: GlobalLab LLC, the first Russian educational company to acquire the status of a resident in the Skolkovo innovation centre

Commitment by the VEB Innovations Fund: RUB 31.8 mn

The project develops an international educational environment in the form of an Internet portal with elements of social network. Its key audience will include children aged from 8 to 17 years, and their teachers and parents. The portal will offer an integrated kit of programme tools that are necessary to implement school research projects across a range of areas: from a simple survey to an in-depth scientific investigation.

The interactive functionality of the portal will help Russian school students to find single-minded friends in various countries and join their efforts in exploring the world. The portal will offer teachers innovative methods to implement project and research activities in the scope of a curriculum. Parents will get an extra opportunity to organise safe online leisure for their children.

What makes the project unique is the high knowledge-intensiveness of its platform tested in 3 thousand schools in 30 world countries. Skolkovo’s expert appraisal board has already recognised the GLOBALLAB project as one of the most innovative educational IT solutions.

The project will improve education quality and motivation for training. It will also help students develop their research skills and personal qualities to meet the requirements of the modern information society.

Success story

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MOBIX CHIP

Initiator: Mobix Chip LLC

Commitment by the VEB Innovations Fund: RUB 14.7 mn

The project seeks to develop and commercialise a next generation microchip for smart electricity metering systems (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) that lie at the heart of the transition by the global energy carrier market to the Smart Grid concept.

The innovative solutions behind this development are designed to promptly identify leaks in electricity grids, including as a result of fraudulent electricity consumption, which will facilitate more efficient energy consumption and higher energy savings. Importantly, the project will also promote a higher level of automation in electricity consumption management systems.

Relations with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives

Expert and organisational support to the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) is a critical area of Vnesheconombank’s support to innovation projects. Set up by the Russian Government in 2011, ASI provides support to leaders of commercial, social and educational projects by helping them overcome administrative barriers and raise funding via financial institutions and development institutions, and by arranging consultations with leading experts and business due diligence.

We are an anchor bank in terms of investment consultancy and in terms of originating financing for projects supported by ASI. The Bank runs a simplified due diligence procedure for these projects. We also run an express analysis of ASI’s projects and initiatives. The results of this analysis then serve as a basis for proposals put on vote by the Chairman of Vnesheconombank at the meeting of the ASI’s Supervisory Board.

In 2013, in order to enhance the efficiency of interaction between Vnesheconombank and ASI, the Bank’s representatives were allowed to directly participate in meetings of the working group of the Agency’s Expert Board examining New Business investment projects. The involvement in the working group’s meetings in conjunction with an express analysis of projects considered by the Agency enables Vnesheconombank to provide investment consultancy services only to those projects that show a high level of readiness and offer potential for further financing by Vnesheconombank.

In 2013, Vnesheconombank received 2 applications for investment consultancy services from projects considered by ASI:

Project:

Construction of a High-Tech Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite Facility in the Republic of Sakha

Initiator:

LLC TBM

The project is planned to produce construction materials for use in housing, industrial and road construction in the Russian North, which will cut down budget expenditures for delivery of construction materials to these remote territories.

Project:

Electric Foil: Retrofitting and Upgrading Foil Manufacturing and Setting Up Laminate Production

Initiator:

Metals Trading House Ltd.

The project seeks to build a greenfield business for manufacturing of high-quality dielectric materials and to upgrade 9-12 µm thick foil manufacturing at an existing business facility. The project will contribute to substitution of foreign made goods with domestic products.

In 2013, Vnesheconombank received two applications for the Bank’s financing from projects supported by ASI:

Project:

Manufacturing of Energy Efficient Next Generation Wires for Power Transmission Lines in the Town of Uglich (Yaroslavl Region)

Initiator:

Sim-Ross-Lamifil Group of Companies

The use of next generation wires that are proposed to be manufactured in the scope of the project will reduce power transmission line losses by 30-40% and will increase their throughput capacity.

Project:

Implementation of an Industrial Leak Pressure Sealing Technology

Initiator:

H.C. INTRATOOL, LLC

The leak pressure sealing technology proposed under the project is based on an innovative approach to process maintenance of pipelines at operating facilities that makes possible repair work without process interruption.

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