Investment appeal of regions of the Southern federal district: modern trends, ways of increase

The investment appeal of the regions constituting the Southern Federal District for 2012-2016 is assessed with the methodology developed by the national rating agency Expert RA. According to this methodology the investment appeal is defined as the consequence of two elements - investment potential and investment risk. The weight of every component of the risk and potential are estimated by experts. The integral indices allowing taking into consideration different conditions and peculiarities of the regional economy are calculated. The components of the investment potential and investment risk for 2012-2016 of the regions of the Southern federal district are analyzed in the dynamics. This analysis allowed determining the ranks and places occupied by the region in consecutive periods. The authors presented a comparative characteristic of the investment climate of the regions of the Southern federal district during the latest five years. The most appealing regions were defined on the ground of the conducted research and the special attention was paid to the development of the investment appeal of the Volgograd region. Strong and weak points, opportunities and threats to the investment appeal of the Volgograd region have been emphasized and the recommendations for improving them have been proposed.