USSR SEES STRONG FOREIGN INTEREST IN JOINT VENTURES
Soviet officials said foreign
businessmen are expressing strong interest in establishing
joint enterprises in the Soviet Union and already 30
preliminary agreements had been signed with Western firms.
    But Western economic experts described foreign business
interest as cautious and noted that no final contracts had been
sealed to set up joint ventures on Soviet territory.
    Moscow last year invited companies in socialist, developing
and capitalist countries to start joint ventures as part of a
programme to open up the Soviet Union's foreign trade ties.
    At the same time, a number of Soviet ministries and
enterprises received the right to deal directly on world
markets. Previously the Ministry of Foreign Trade monopolised
all import and export business.
    Explaining the changes at a news conference today, Deputy
Prime Minister Vladimir Kamentsev said they had received a
mixed reaction in the foreign press but a warm response from
businessmen.
    Over 200 proposals for establishing joint ventures had been
received from foreign firms, 121 of which had been judged of
mutual interest, he said.
    Thirty protocols had been signed and 12 projects were
"practically implemented," including ventures with Finnish,
Japanese, West German and American firms, he added.
    But Western diplomats specialising in Soviet economic
affairs said the protocols were not legally binding and not a
single contract had been finalised.
    "The Soviet Union is selling the joint venture idea very
hard because it wants to obtain new technology cheaply, but I
would say business reaction in the West has been cool so far,"
commented one diplomat.
    Asked why this was so, he said the rules for running joint
ventures were still unclear and no Western firm wanted to be
the first to take a major financial risk.
    Kamentsev, flanked by Foreign Trade Minister Boris Aristov,
Foreign Trade Bank Chairman Yuri Ivanov and other officials,
repeated terms for the establishment of joint ventures,
including the ground-rule that the Soviet side must have a
stake of at least 51 pct in any enterprise.
    He said some businessmen had the mistaken impression that
foreign partners could only take profits from the products
which their enterprises exported.
    "I would like to stress that the foreign partner can take
profits from all the products which his venture produces
according to his share of the capital," Kamentsev said.
    He added that the Soviet Union was interested in "long-term
and stable contacts" with foreign firms and was offering a
number of tax breaks to companies which invested here.
    Speaking about the reform giving individual Soviet trading
organisations more autonomy, Kamentsev said 21 ministries and
75 enterprises now had the right to deal for themselves on
world markets.
    Organisations enjoying this right handled 25 pct of total
Soviet trade including 40 pct of trade in machines and tools,
he said.
    The Ministry of Foreign Trade continued to conduct business
for the remaining ministries and state enterprises and
supervised trade in essential products such as food.
 REUTER
