Sergey Lisov: “MiSB enterprises survived thanks to government support”

Chairman of the Belgorod regional branch of "Business Russia" - on measures to support business in the conditions of the Northern Military District, the construction of a defensive line, business risks in the border zone,"public execution in the square"Sergey LisovSergey LisovSergey Lisov

 “Banks are skeptical about collateral located in the 50-kilometer border zone - they have an unspoken ban”

— How did relations between the authorities and the regional branch of Delovaya Rossiya develop this year?

- The beginning of the year was very difficult and decisions were made in an emergency mode. We turned to the regional government with a number of initiatives to let the business survive. In March, a videoconference was held at the level of the regional governor, in which almost all large enterprises and business support funds took part. Urgent measures were taken at the conference to support MIS enterprises. Unlike small businesses, most large businesses had some stock built up and they could keep going. The government of the Belgorod region, together with the federal government, decided on a moratorium on bankruptcy for a period of six months. This proved to be an effective measure, as MISB enterprises faced a lack of working capital and insolvency, which made it impossible to pay taxes. Big problems were caused by the rupture of supply chains: the lack of supplies from European counterparties had a negative impact on the work of small enterprises. A six-month moratorium on issuing tax files was their salvation, allowing them to remain viable.

Another effective measure was the postponement of the payment of social taxes for a year. Another problem is that banks are skeptical about collateral located in the 50-kilometer border zone - they have an unspoken ban on accepting it as collateral. In the Belgorod region in this zone there are many enterprises that are not able to use their property to replenish working capital and invest. And the speed with which the government made a decision is truly priceless: amendments were promptly made at the State Duma level and proposals were made. For our part, we have collected all the questions that were voiced through the apparatus of Delovaya Rossiya in Moscow at the level of the President of RUSSIA. Thanks to this, most of the MIS enterprises were able to survive, while maintaining jobs and viability.

- Belgorod and Kursk regions were at the center of these events. How do you develop relationships with Kursk colleagues?

- In the first half of December, we held a meeting with the Kursk people at the level of leaders and committees of "Business Russia": we have common problems with them. Many enterprises of the Kursk region, like ours, are actually in the combat zone, although the actual line of contact lies outside our regions. It is difficult to call it otherwise, since volleys from Grads and other artillery systems regularly “arrive” at us. My colleagues and I discussed common problems and drew up a joint protocol, which we sent to the central office of Delovaya Rossiya in Moscow and our regional governments. I really hope that measures will be taken to ensure the viability of enterprises and provide them with some additional subsidies.

- Do entrepreneurs help in solving emerging problems?

- A large number of our enterprises are involved in the construction of the "notch line", which was erected in ancient times. Now we practically repeat what was once done by our ancestors. I will not give specific figures, but every day our road and construction companies install thousands of anti-tank barriers, concrete gouges, ditches are laid. I would like to reassure the people of Belgorod: the work is going on all the time, and all enterprises are loaded to the maximum. Many entrepreneurs help privately - one of our "Delorossians" has developed and mastered the production of light, durable and compact stretchers made of polymer material for carrying the wounded, which are already being supplied as humanitarian aid to the front. How and to what extent to help is everyone's responsibility, but many entrepreneurs, as far as I know,

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— How can you assess the dynamics of the development of non-resource-based M&A?

At the moment it is negative. This year we will not see any development. The main task, I repeat, is to preserve existing production and jobs. And many of the affected enterprises succeeded thanks to the support measures taken by the regional government. The SME Support Fund is working well for us - it was decided to give small businesses 5 million rubles each. to replenish working capital and to pay salaries to employees. We are not talking about investments in the current situation - if only we could survive. Considering that banks refuse to lend, the support fund can guarantee amounts up to 70 million rubles. This is a very significant support for enterprises located within the 50-kilometer zone, whose banks, as I have already said, do not accept property as collateral.

— How are customs and logistics terminals (CLT) and temporary storage warehouses (TSW) used at present in the border areas of the Belgorod Region?

- We have two TLTs located directly on the border, which were organized there in 2009 on behalf of Vladimir Putin, then the HEAD of the Russian government. The decision was made correctly: there was less unnecessary driving and no more cargo wasted. At the moment, unfortunately, these TLTs do not work, and many enterprises located near the war zone physically lost their assets as a result of “arrivals”. Until August of this year, the terminal in the zone of the Shebekinsky customs post worked, but due to the September events, when our troops left Kupyansk and Izyum, the terminal and the customs post were evacuated. Customs activity on the territory of the Belgorod region is currently practically absent. Let's hope the situation changes for the better.

“The only enterprises that turned out to be “in the black” were those that work with the state defense order (GOZ). Everyone else, whatever they did, worked at a loss.

— Were the risks of negative developments taken into account when developing the project for the creation and development of the Volokonovsky industrial park? In those years, relations with Ukraine were no longer the easiest.

- "Not the most simple" relationship did not mean that the NWO would be held. Of course, no one thought that our relations with the fraternal people could slide to such a level. The risk of hostilities of this magnitude was not taken into account at all. But I can say that the residents of the village of Volokonovka are very brave people, like the entire population of the border zone. They are patriots of their country who love it, do not leave anywhere and continue to work. There are no direct arrivals and hits on the territory of the Volokonovsky industrial park, so we work from morning to evening, there is enough work. At the same time, we provide assistance to Russian military personnel stationed in our area. None of the entrepreneurs refused to help our military, providing them with full support at the expense of both their own and the enterprise.

What areas of business, in your opinion, suffered the most in the past year?

— The directions associated with the supply of spare parts and components from Europe suffered greatly, especially in the first and second quarters, when all logistics chains were broken and there was a reorientation to supplies from Asia. Such enterprises actually stopped for two or even three months due to lack of stocks. If they had known what was going to happen, they would have stocked up. No one expected that events would develop so rapidly, so the prices for some types of goods doubled or tripled. The prices for components that were already in the central warehouses in Russia also grew - the management of foreign companies warmed their hands to the situation by selling them at exorbitant prices, which also had a negative impact on our work. The only enterprises that turned out to be "in the black" were those that work with the state defense order (GOZ). Everyone else, whatever they do, worked at a loss. But in the third quarter, the situation began to change for the better, and we are optimistic about 2023. Just like after the pandemiccovid-19 , when we hoped that everything would be fine, but alas. However, do not be discouraged - we will work.

- The governor of the Belgorod region called for the public execution of company executives on the square by chopping off their heads for disrupting the commissioning of facilities. Obviously, this is hyperbole. But, in your opinion, is it not worth tightening the measure of responsibility in such a difficult time?

— I don’t know exactly what the governor had in mind, but apparently it was about the implementation of the state defense order. Here it is difficult to disagree with Vyacheslav Gladkov - we live in a very difficult time, so disrupting orders related to the front is unacceptable. And no matter how hard this phrase sounds, it is true. However, you should not chop off the shoulder. It's better to figure out what caused it. There are enterprises that won state tenders at the end of last year or the beginning of this year, but none of them imagined that the SVO could begin in February. In the border zone, for example, in Tishanka or Valuyki, there are facilities where work could be carried out until the end of August this year, but in the following months they were shelled almost daily. And not a single person can be forced to work in such conditions, since human life is the most valuable, what we have. Why endanger a person's life if it is not directly related to the victory in the NWO? And if it is not possible to hand over the object within the required time, you just need to sign an additional agreement on its transfer.

The full version of the interview with RBC Chernozemye within the framework of the special project "Results of the Year" can be read here.