1

Analysis of the economies of the BRICS countries and their cooperation with Russia in terms of international trade

What is the key factor of economic growth? What contributes to the growth of technological development and the strengthening of international relations? And what answers these questions better than international trade! The presence of reliable trading partners is becoming a necessary criterion for sustainable development in conditions of extreme geopolitical tension. That is why the admission of new countries to the BRICS will not only increase the total GDP of the participating countries by 14%, and foreign trade turnover by 18%, but will also open up new opportunities for cooperation and investment.
In the new research, SBS Consulting experts have figured out how the economies and foreign trade relations of all 11 BRICS member countries (current and new since January 2024) are arranged in order to help the business community, analysts and economic agents assess the prospects for interstate cooperation and investment in the development of trade relations.
2

RES development in Russia: what is the benefit of China's experience

The use of renewable energy sources is a key element of the global agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to overcome the climate crisis, which is also becoming necessary for Russia. On the world stage, China is the leader in investing in clean energy and the largest player in the market of electricity production from renewable sources. Due to the projected achievement of "network parity" in China by 2026, as well as in Russia in the future after 2035, the focus of the study is on the applicability of the main technologies used in China for implementation into the trajectory of the renewable energy market in Russia.
3

ESG-the agenda of the regions of Russia

The SBS Consulting team invites you to get acquainted with the second iteration of our study of regional initiatives in the field of sustainable development - "ESG-the agenda of the regions of Russia".
Although in most regions there is still no key document defining long-term sustainable development goals - the ESG transformation strategy - the involvement of subjects in the agenda, as the research shows, is higher than one might assume at first glance. From region to region, a whole range of measures are being taken to preserve the environment and reduce anthropogenic impact, ensure inclusive social practices and improve the quality of public administration.

Investments in renewable energy generation, the creation of carbon-neutral zones and carbon landfills, grants and preferential taxation for social entrepreneurs - we invite you to learn more about these and many other regional ESG initiatives in our research.

4

ESG digest, 1st half of 2023

The global discourse around the ESG agenda is intensifying. Due to the growing attention to sustainable development and ethical governance, some countries are coming up with new legislative initiatives and projects. China, Russia and Kazakhstan, each with their own political and socio-economic landscape, are among the countries developing the ESG agenda.
In this digest you will find the latest significant legislative initiatives and events in the field of sustainable development in China, Russia and Kazakhstan.
5

Macroeconomic trends

In 2022, the Russian economy faced an unprecedented number of sanctions and significant economic uncertainty. These factors had a negative impact on Russia's macroeconomic indicators, but in general, the external economic environment was favorable for the country.
Thanks to prompt actions of the Central Bank and the Russian Government, the exchange rate and inflation were stabilized in 2022. The rate of GDP decline in 2022 was less than in other crises, and inflation was the highest in 8 years. The unemployment rate and industrial production rate did not show the expected changes.
You can learn more about changes in macroeconomic indicators in Russia for 2022 in our study.
6

Analysis of the economies of the BRICS countries and their cooperation with Russia in terms of international trade

International trade is the most important component of the economic development of the modern world. The BRICS member countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) today represent a significant amount of global GDP and are key participants in the global trade network. In addition, BRICS acts as an important forum for cooperation and has the potential to become one of the key driving forces of the global economy.

The research conducted by SBS Consulting provides information on the state and dynamics of international trade of the BRICS member countries, which can help the business community, investors and economic analysts better understand and assess the prospects for cooperation with these countries.
7

Assessment of the maturity level of startup ecosystems of Russian and foreign universities

In successful start-up countries (mainly in the USA), tracks for introducing and teaching entrepreneurship have been implemented already at the early stages of the development of entrepreneurial skills in a person. The startup ecosystem at the university can be represented by three groups of elements – introduction to entrepreneurship, training and support of startups, search for investments for scaling.

For each group of elements, criteria have been selected that evaluate the startup ecosystem according to its openness and accessibility. TU Berlin and RWTH in Germany and TalTech in Estonia were selected as universities for analysis for comparison with MIPT, ITMO and TPU in Russia.
In Russian universities, there is a lack of maturity in all groups of elements compared to foreign universities. The largest lag in the university startup ecosystem in Russia is observed in the search and attraction of investments.
8

Results of the study of the best ESG practices of Russian regions

The ESG agenda is actively developing at the level of Russian regions, but the level of involvement of subjects in the agenda remains heterogeneous. In most regions, there is still no key document defining long-term sustainable development goals - the ESG transformation strategy. Nevertheless, the subjects take various measures to preserve the environment, ensure social protection and improve the quality of public administration.

Plogging races, the creation of a green city, youth innovation creativity centers, social entrepreneurship schools, a "green corridor" for investors, analytics on the potential of various market niches for SMEs and other initiatives by regional authorities make an invaluable contribution to the sustainable development of our country.

You can learn more about the best regional ESG practices from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin in our study.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
9

Client-centricity in Russian companies

The study analyzes cases of effective customer-centric practices for such Russian companies as Sberbank, Severstal, X5 Group, VTB, Tele2.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
10

The role of Russian universities in the innovation cycle

Russia's investments in R&D amount to 1.1% of GDP, which is 3 times lower than in the United States in percentage terms and in monetary terms, when compared with the values of the leading countries in innovation. In Russia, the main demand for innovation is provided by the state, while in the leading countries - from the corporate sector due to the differences in business conditions. In Russia, the final stage of R&D is the least effective: in terms of the number of patented industrial designs. There is a low share of Russian venture investments in seed stages of companies and startups.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
11

On the problems of the development of Russian pharmaceuticals in the context of sanctions

Despite the decrease in import dependence on the pharmaceutical market (estimated to be up to 65% of the share of imports in monetary terms) and the achievement of positive results in the implementation of the pharmaceutical industry development strategy, foreign sanctions have an impact on meeting the needs of the Russian pharmaceutical market. Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
12

How carbon markets work

On September 1, the so-called “Sakhalin experiment” officially starts - the first regional emissions trading system in Russia (according to the Federal Law of March 6, 2022 No. 34-FZ). For this event, SBS Consulting experts prepared an analytical material on carbon markets. This study provides a general outline of carbon markets, describes what regulated and voluntary carbon markets are, provides a comparative analysis for the regulated systems of the EU, China and Kazakhstan, and describes the operation of the cap-and-trade system on Sakhalin.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
13

Assessing the Impact of Sanctions on Russian Exports in 2022 (Part 2)

As part of the study of the export potential of Russian products, the SBS Consulting team updated the next review of Russian exports, taking into account new sanctions packages (6 and 7).
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
14

On the problems of SME development in Russia

The lack of available funding today is a key limitation for the creation of new and development of existing industries. Without solving this problem, any government initiatives to determine industry priorities, subsidize R&D costs, and even reduce administrative barriers are not able to bring the level of entrepreneurship development to a qualitatively different level.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
15

Prospects for the development of the financial services sector of the Russian Federation

The financial services industry is increasingly focused on innovation and technology. Existing trends and customer preferences signal the need for maximum integration of financial technologies into traditional banking. The development of fintech in the Russian Federation can serve as an excellent way not only to make itself known on the “world stage”, but also to reduce the sanctions burden on the banking sector of our country. As part of the study conducted by SBS Consulting, you will be able to see a brief overview of the Russian banking system, study the trends existing in the financial services market, and also get information about what exactly is meant by such a word as “fintech” and what interesting projects are currently on the market.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
16

Findings from China's Green Agenda Study

The problem of climate change is one of the key issues on the global agenda. At the same time, China is the main emitter of greenhouse gases, which is why special attention is focused on its climate activities. Our team wondered what results the eastern neighbor can boast of in its green agenda? In this study, you will find the main analytics on China's energy mix and investments in energy capacities, the country's goals and objectives in the field of decarbonization of the economy, an assessment of the achievement of KPI, a description of national ESG tools, and an analysis of the activities of key companies in the energy and industrial sectors on their way to achieving carbon neutrality.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
17

Anti-crisis measures of the Government of the Russian Federation

Many people turn to us with a request to comment on the logic of the anti-crisis policy. In this regard, we have prepared a short note describing the logic of steps and developed recommendations for regional administrations.

Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
18

The principles of the new economic policy

The SBS Consulting team prepared its monetary policy proposals back in 2021. Unfortunately, they were not implemented. However, some of the recommendations are still valid. Therefore, it is interesting to look at them not from the point of view of the implementation of anti-crisis steps, but from the point of view of the formation of monetary policy in the long term.
Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
19

Assessment of the impact of sanctions on Russian exports in 2022

As part of the study of the export potential of Russian products, SBS Consulting publishes another review of Russian exports.

At the end of 2021, the total volume of exports of goods from Russia increased by 46% to $492 billion, which indicates a recovery in exports after a fall in 2020 due to the pandemic. At the same time, the introduced internal restrictions and external sanctions on the export of certain Russian goods will have an impact on the realization of the export potential of the Russian economy in 2022. The SBS Consulting team assessed the effect of restrictions and predicted the volume of Russian exports in 2022.

Follow the link to download the research in Russian.
20

Key Performance Indicators: Modern Approaches and the ESG Agenda

In the study, the SBS Consulting team assessed the level of compliance of the sets of performance indicators declared by public companies in their annual reports with modern approaches to the development of KPI systems and the principles of reporting according to ESG standards.

Follow the link to download the research in Russian.