UPDATE: Minister: Russia’s GDP to fall less than 4% in 2020

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MOSCOW, Sep 8 (PRIME) -- Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will fall less than 4% in 2020, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at the Moscow Financial Forum on Tuesday.

“Our situation with growth rates is one of the best, not bad. Because if in some countries the economy declines by 5% or more compared to last year, this year we see that the economy will decrease by less than 4%, maybe even it will be more positive actual data on the economy,” he said.

The budget deficit will be around 4% of GDP, he added.

Unemployment in Russia is reaching the pre-crisis trends, and consumer demand is restoring, Siluanov also said.

Russia is reaching the level of state debt of around 20% of GDP, this is a safe level, but it is not reasonable to overstep this line, the minister also said.

Siluanov also said that Russia needs to value the trust of foreign investors, as without them it will not be possible to fulfill the borrowings plan in 2020.

“The third of our debt is to foreign investors, by the way. And the amount of debt that we borrow this year will largely depend on whether we are trusted or not, including by foreigners. And if there are no private foreign investors, we just will not borrow so much. Therefore, we need to value this trust,” he said.

Russian banks will come out with a plus from the current situation, unlike many sectors of the economy, there are opportunities to reduce interest rates on loans, Siluanov also said.

“As for stimulating the economy, what measures to stimulate the economy, then, it seems to me that the banking sector should go for lowering rates, first of all for the economy and lowering margins. I think that in the current situation, even in a crisis situation, banks will come out with a plus, unlike other sectors of the economy. Therefore, there is an opportunity to reduce the cost of a loan, which will correspondingly contribute to increasing dynamics of economic development,” he said.

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