Russia's SME sector grows despite sanctions, says Deputy PM Novak

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Despite external restrictions and difficult market conditions, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises continues to grow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during an operational meeting of deputy prime ministers with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

"Despite external restrictions and difficult market conditions, SME development indicators continue to grow: the number of entities has reached 7 mln, while the number of people employed in the sector has exceeded 19 mln," he noted.

According to the deputy prime minister, as of May 1, 1.5 mln new legal entities and individual entrepreneurs had been registered, which is 4.2% higher than during the same period last year.

In addition, more than 5 mln entrepreneurs have received support during implementation of the national project for small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, Novak pointed out.

The government is also helping small businesses address the problem of delayed payments by large companies, he added. Thanks to the work of a special task force involving the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the SME Corporation, around 60% of the disputed debt owed to small businesses has been repaid out of court since the beginning of the year, the deputy prime minister noted.

"Today, small and medium-sized businesses are a driver of structural changes in the economy. It is very important to provide them with targeted and precise support measures that correspond to current challenges. We remain in constant dialogue with entrepreneurs. We continuously adjust these support measures depending on business needs," Novak concluded.