Mayor Says Rating Agencies Underestimate Moscow

By The Moscow Times

March 25, 2014

Western ratings agencies are pulling down Moscow's investment rating, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

"About 8 million square meters of real estate are built every year worth, by the most modest estimate, about $28 billion," Sobyanin said at a meeting of the city government last week. By comparison, London erects only $18 billion worth of new buildings each year, he added.

Sobyanin said that Moscow's investment potential is underestimated by a factor of 10, Vedomosti reported.

The city government discussed a recent rating that placed Moscow fourth amongst the largest investment markets in Europe, with total investment of 4.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion). Sobyanin called this assessment absurd, saying that City Hall alone has an investment program of $10 billion.

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