Investment expenditure: business named top problems for further development

Russian companies called the lack of funds the main problem that constrains investments. The top 3 difficulties also include uncertainty in the economy and low demand. This follows from a survey of the Central Bank, which was reviewed by Izvestia. A year ago, the main problem for the further development of enterprises was the uncertainty in the economy. However, the Russian Federation has had a high key interest rate (16-21%) for more than a year, which has made loans expensive and burdensome. Companies spend more than a third of their profits on paying interest on loans. What will happen if companies stop investing in development altogether, and what measures could support investments — in the Izvestia article.

What hinders business investment

The growth of business investment activity slowed down in 2025. This follows from the monitoring of the Bank of Russia in the February report on the regional economy (Izvestia analyzed it). This situation is noticeable in all sectors except construction, where investment has even declined over the past two years.

The business called the lack of its own funds the main problem. This is what is most limiting investments now, according to the data from the Central Bank. The second and third places are occupied by the uncertainty of the economic situation in the country and low demand for products. Among other difficulties, the company identified a shortage of qualified personnel and high interest rates on loans for investment purposes. However, the impact of these two factors has been decreasing over the past year.

For comparison, in a previous survey published in April 2025, businesses cited economic uncertainty as the main obstacle to investment. In second place, there was still weak demand. And in the June 2024 study of the enterprise, uncertainty and staff shortages were particularly highlighted.

Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Energy and the Central Bank about what is currently slowing down investments in development. The availability of financing is one of the key factors influencing business investment activity, especially when it comes to small and medium—sized enterprises, recalled Alexander Isaevich, CEO of SME Corporation.

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Businesses usually invest from their own resources, as it is difficult to attract borrowed funds, especially in high-key conditions, says Roman Musin, Director of Development at Maximikha SEZ, VTB Group. From October 2024 to June 2025, the Bank of Russia kept the rate at a record high of 21% and only last summer began a gradual easing of monetary policy. Currently, the key rate is still at a high level of 16% per annum, while it is expected that at the meeting on Friday, February 13, the regulator will maintain it.

If a company does not have its own money, it cannot invest its own funds, as well as attract additional external financing, the expert emphasized. Long-term maintenance of the key at a high level generates a fairly large volume of deferred investment projects, Alexander Isaevich added.

In addition, according to CMAKP calculations, by the end of the third quarter of 2025, businesses were spending 36% of their profits on paying interest on loans. This was a new historical maximum and is almost 10 percentage points higher than a year earlier, Olga Belenkaya, head of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at Finam, reminded.

Risks to the economy due to lack of investment

Investments in fixed assets showed very strong growth in 2022-2024. We are talking about the costs that are aimed at the acquisition and modernization of facilities (buildings, transport, equipment). However, in the third quarter of 2025, they fell by 3%, which is the first reduction in annual dynamics since 2020, Olga Belenkaya recalled. In just nine months of last year, investments increased by only 0.5%, compared to 9% in 2024.

However, investment activity is focused on making a profit, said Alexey Begaev, founder of the Insek group of companies. According to him, it involves investments either in own projects or in third-party companies and initiatives. Investments are not an expense item, but a key mechanism for economic renewal, said Dmitry Akhtuba, President of the Medinvest Club. He added: the refusal of enterprises to invest in equipment, technology and expansion of production capacities does not have an instant effect, but inevitably manifests itself in a few years.

Over time, the equipment becomes obsolete and fails more often, and the manufactured products lose their competitiveness. The lack of modernization increases the gap between wage growth and labor productivity per employee, which directly leads to the risks of stagflation, the expert noted.

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A slowdown in investment growth is a negative scenario for the economy. This hinders the expansion of future supply, worsens the competitive position of enterprises and leads to a reduction in their market share, said Olga Belenkaya from Finam.

In this regard, lowering rates is in the interests of both business and the Ministry of Finance, whose tax revenues directly depend on the dynamics of economic activity. Experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that by the end of 2026, the key rate can be expected to decrease to 11-13%. This will support the revival of economic activity, including investment.