Medvedev looks to Singapore for electronic efficiency

By Oleg Shchedrov SINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev filed a mock application on Monday to open a Russian restaurant in Singapore, part of efforts to train his government in electronic efficiency to help a modernisation drive. Medvedev, who attended a regional summit in the city-state at the weekend, asked Singapore officials to demonstrate how documents can be circulated through the Internet -- something the Kremlin has tried to launch at home without much success. "We tried to set up a Russian restaurant in Singapore," Medvedev told a meeting of business leaders from both countries after filling in an appropriate online form during the demonstration. "We will see in eight days whether it works." Officials said the application was on online exercise and Medvedev was not expected to actually open or run a restaurant afterwards. Investors cite red tape as one of the worst problems businesses face in Russia. Huge amounts of paperwork and applications to dozens of official organisations are needed to launch or run firms, discouraging business and breeding corruption. "Some time ago I proposed launching a comprehensive modernisation of the Russian economy based in innovation ... to improve its competitiveness," Medvedev told the business leaders. By contrast, financial centre Singapore is known for its efficiency and ease of doing business, and its civil servants ranked top in Asia according to a study this year by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy. Medvedev seeks to use a post-crisis exit strategy to forge Russia's modernisation, after saying excessive dependence on energy and raw materials exports caused extra pain for Russia during the global economic crisis. Medvedev, running Russia in tandem with his powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has clearly indicated his modernisation drive was not intended to completely disassemble the country's Kremlin-controlled political system. Opponents blame Putin, who remains Russia's most influential politician, for boosting state involvement in the economy. "Singapore shows how many things can be achieved successfully, with tight participation of the government, without its excessive involvement," Medvedev told business leaders after attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Singapore is looking to export "eGovernment" solutions to other countries. APEC's Executive Director Michael Tay, a former Singaporean ambassador to Russia, is also seeking to drive more business links and investment between the two countries. Medvedev has ordered officials to ease procedures needed to register new companies. The project of "electronic government" is aimed at moving most registration and tax clearance to the internet, but previous such Russian efforts have failed. (Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Jerry Norton) Keywords: RUSSIA SINGAPORE/ ([e-mail]; phone: [phone]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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