Economic Review of Vladivostok (Russia)

Vladivostok is a port city located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan. From the west, the city is washed by the Amur Bay, and from the east Ussuriysky, near the Peter the Great Bay. Vladivostok, being also a military border city and the capital of Primorsky Krai, was considered a closed city for a long time, with military outposts. The closest neighboring states are China, North Korea and Japan.

At the moment, more than 627 thousand people live in the city. The capital of the region provides up to 79% of the retail trade and 76% of paid services fot the population. The main activities of the townspeople are wholesale and retail trade, production of goods and services, logistics and warehousing, scientific and technical activities, as well as construction and maintenance of buildings, and the average salary is 67,737.6 rubles.



Vladivostok is a city with a budget surplus of 438.6 million rubles, replenished mainly from tax and non-tax revenues (57.8%) and gratuitous receipts (42.2%). The city spends its budget mainly for the social factors: 57.8% were allocated for the development of education, the national economy (11.5%) and general state issues (12.4%). The city authorities annually allocate funds for the improvement and development of parks, squares, courtyards, embankments. The design of public areas, the installation of sports equipment, the arrangement of parking lots, cafes and much more are being carried out. As Oleg Gumenyuk, the head of Vladivostok, said: “The main thing for us is that the squares are not only beautiful, but also comfortable for residents and guests of our city. Therefore, we discuss all projects with the townspeople in advance."

Vladivostok has 33277 organizations in 2021, of which 91% (30790 units) are private companies and 20408 individual entrepreneurs. There are 25,951 registered small and micro-enterprises in Vladivostok, employing up to 103,573 people. Striking examples of Vladivostok leading companies are the following organizations: 

• OJSC Vladvostokoptsnab is the largest trading company with a huge warehouse base at its disposal and has established itself as a reliable partner for many factories producing machinery, building materials, various equipment, textiles, household chemicals; 
• LLC "COMEN Vladivostok", specializing in security systems production
• Voltek Group LLC is a giant in food technical equipment production for a wide variety of purposes from heat treatment to storage. 

What is noteworthy is that there are no federal food retailers in the city like X5 Retail Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Karusel, Chizhik), their place was taken by Far Eastern retail chains and catering establishments.

The city is interesting not only for its entrepreneurs and small businesses. As a free port territory, Vladivostok is endowed with special customs, tax, investment and related regulations. The city has 1,716 residents in 2020, 83,093 jobs created and receives foreign investment from China, Japan, Korea, India and many other countries. There are basically two taxes for residents: 7.6% - as a general insurance premium for 10 years and 5% income tax. The tax on land and property for 5 years is 0%, but for the next 5 years the property is taxed only 0.5%. Vladivostok provides preferences to future residents: from duty-free and tax-free regimes to state protection and shortening the time required for obtaining documents for capital construction or passing control checks.

The main economic attraction of the city is the oldest Eastern shipyard: more than 500 pieces of equipment were produced here. JSC Vostochnaya Verf produces boats, ice tankers, border patrol ships, crab fishing vessels and other vessels for the Maritime Border Guard Service and the Pacific Fleet. The shipyard is supplied by the nearby railway. In addition to construction, the shipyard also repairs warships. 

There are more than 10 container acceptance terminals in Vladivostok, one of the largest is the Vladivostok Sea Container Terminal of VMKT LLC, which handles containers, including on the export-import line. For the economy, the presence of terminals is vital, since sea transport is one of the cheapest, and, consequently, the most popular types of cargo transportation. On the territory of the container station, not only loading and unloading takes place, but also documentation verification, return of empty containers and acceptance of full ones. Trade and further partnership between countries depends on the logistics' quality. 

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If you have questions or would likw to develope partner relations with Russian regions, you can leave a request in the feedback form or contact our specialists:

Maxim Kuznetsov - vice-president of the RAUIE
investment@raspp.ru
WeChat: maximkuznetsov