Vol 28, No 2 (2020)

The article examines major trends and prospects regarding the Indian direct investment in the economy of the Russian Federation. The authors comprehensively analyze key factors, the scale, regional and sectoral composition of the Indian direct investment in the Russian economy, scrutinize the evolution of sectoral and regional composition of the Indian FDI, as well as define main challenges and obstacles that investors from India face in Russia and identify medium-term prospects for the Indian capital in the Russian Federation. The research shows that in the current circumstances the significance of the Indian capital in form of direct investment for Russia is substantially growing; its regional presence is steadily increasing; the sectoral diversification of the Indian investment is intensifying. The important indicator in this case is the quality of the Indian capital, its gradually increasing high-technology component. Not only the scale of the Indian direct investment in the Russian economy is changing, but also there is the rise in number of companies investing in Russia. At the same time, if in the early 2000s those companies were mainly large Indian MNCs, nowadays there is an increased interest in Russia among small and medium-sized high-technology enterprises of India that promote innovative development of the Russian regions. Of utmost importance is the fact that the Indian capital is also invested in small-scale industry, promoting upgrade of technological equipment of small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia. These noticeable changes in the Indian capital movement will substantially contribute to enhanced economic cooperation between the two countries.

India examines relations with ASEAN countries as one of the priority vectors of the modern foreign economic strategy “South - South”. The purpose of the article is to analyze one of the most important aspects of Indian economic relations with the countries of Southeast Asia - investment cooperation. The article covers a wide range of analytical methods: statistical analysis, forecasting, comparison, theoretical generalization, statistical data processing, and also abstract-logical analysis (for systematization and generalization of the main areas of investment interaction). The indicators of Indian foreign direct investment to ASEAN, including country-wise distribution, and the association’s foreign direct investment to the republic are analyzed in detail. The authors consider in detail various aspects of intercountry investment interaction. The association is the main focus for Indian investments abroad and a significant investor to the republic, as demonstrated by stable bilateral economic relations. In general, investment cooperation seriously contributes to the development of relations between India and ASEAN.

Europe is transforming its energy balance and increasing the use of local renewable energy sources. Russia's economy depends on the export of fossil (non-renewable) energy resources. About half of the country's energy resources are exported, primarily to European countries. A change in the fuel and energy balance of European countries, as the main consumer of Russian energy resources, will affect the Russian economy. Therefore, Russia urgently needs to know the state of alternative energy in Europe. The purpose of this article is to assess the growth rate of the share of innovative alternative energy sources in the energy balance of Germany and Denmark, as leading countries. The background for the implementation of energy policy in the field of alternative energy is different. First of all, these are countries with developed economies. They need a reliable, uninterrupted supply of energy sources. The Danish government was the first among European countries to evaluate the potential of alternative energy and began to develop it. Denmark is the first country in Europe to use wind energy to generate electricity. In 1991, the first offshore wind energy plant in Europe appeared in Denmark. Germany started the construction of wind power parks only in 2008. Nevertheless, today Germany, along with China and the United States, is among the top three world leaders in terms of wind power capacity, and also has become one of the world leaders in terms of the total installed capacity of solar panels. In absolute terms, characterizing the development of alternative energy, Germany is the world leader, in relative terms - Denmark. Germany’s economy is many times larger than Denmark’s. Therefore, Germany cannot rebuild the fuel structure of its economy as fast as Denmark. The Danish leadership has set ambitious goals for the development of alternative energy. In 2050, 100% of the energy supplied to end consumers will be generated from renewable sources. Germany cannot rebuild its economy with this fast pace. In Germany in 2050, the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption will be 60%. Germany, unlike Denmark, initially relied not on the development of alternative energy, but on the development of nuclear energy. However, through consistent energy policies, it has become a world leader in alternative energy use. When Germany began to implement energy policy, it already had a prototype - Denmark. But then, as the study showed, the country chose its own path. And then Germany and Denmark developed alternative energy in different ways. Nowadays the international cooperation has a great importance. Germany and Denmark collaborate in regional and transregional projects in terms of renewable energy sources. “North Sea Wind Power Hub” is a successful example of their work together. The experience of Germany and Denmark has shown that alternative energy development programs do not exist by themselves. The alternative energy development program is only part of several other related programs. Among them are programs on the rejection of the use of nuclear energy (in relation to Germany), measures to increase the energy efficiency of economies, construction of infrastructure, changes in the organizational structure of energy, etc. Nowadays, many countries in the world pursue an energy policy in the field of renewable energy. In 2009, Russia also committed to increase the share of alternative energy sources to 4.5% by 2020. In the implementation of this policy, it is necessary to take into account the experience of Western countries. The difficulties faced by countries in the new energy sector do not allow us to talk about a decrease in their dependence on energy imports.

The article is devoted to the visualization features on the maps of indicators of the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories. In recent years, issues of the development of the Arctic territories of the Russian Federation have been one of the priority directions for the development of the state. That explains the relevance of research in this area. It is proposed to use modern geographical information systems as a method of displaying socio-economic indicators in space. This choice led to the availability of a large array of data necessary for analyzing the opportunities and priorities of the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories. As an example, an indicator is considered - the payroll of all employees of organizations. According to the presented results, we can conclude that there is a strong differentiation of the Arctic territories by the level of financial security.

The article analyzes the impact of the regulatory framework in the oil and gas sector of Venezuela. There are several factors affecting the volume and price of petroleum products in the world: investments in exploration and production of resources, the volume and depletion of reserves; political and economic crises in oil-producing countries; the creation of new technologies and much more, including state regulation of the oil and gas industry. Sometimes there are circumstances, the consequences of which are not thought. For example, Latin America has changed markedly since it began to use oil as a political tool. But, by the beginning of 2016, prices are falling: production volumes are high, and consumption is declining. There are several reasons: the decline in growth in developing countries; slow recovery of European countries after the European economic crisis; an increase in energy efficiency. To understand these changes in oil activities, it is necessary to examine the national and international legal framework. The regulatory framework in Latin America differs significantly from the American framework (the starting point is the type of subsoil ownership, i.e. in South America, subsoil is owned by the state by colonial heritage, and in the United States by private individuals). Thus, the subject of the study is the legal framework of Venezuela, a country with its own historical features, peculiar views on national security and ideological views on the role of the state. Venezuela will be considered, as the country is one of the major producing countries in Latin America; oil is the main element of the economy; a large number of regulatory models have been tested. The evolution of its activities is an excellent example of different approaches to the management of the oil industry.