Assessing economic opportunities in the soviet far east

Abstract

The Soviet leadership has announced changes in policy objectives which have opened the Soviet Union economy to foreign trade and investment at the enterprise level. These changes in national policy objectives could create new opportunities for foreign involvement in the Soviet Far East. It is argued that while attainment of the objectives of the reforms would create new opportunities in the Soviet Far East, the procedures of the reform process have become a source of weakness in exploiting those opportunities. In the Soviet Far East, there are investment opportunities in the exploitation and development of the region’s rich endowment of resources and the related infrastructure projects. Traditionally the region has been a producer of timber and fish. Large reserves of old, and therefore high quality timber, remain. The region is well endowed with many minerals, including iron ore, coal, and gold, as well as a wide range of other non-ferrous metals. In terms of both their tonnage and grade, many of these deposits are world class.(1) Significant tonnages of coal, tin, and gold ores are currently mined. In addition, there are large oil and gas deposits offshore from Sakhalin island. The geography of the region makes it attractive as a tourist destination, especially for adventure and special-interest travel (hiking, hunting, etc.), not only for people from Northeast Asia but also from Europe and North America. Show more