MOSCOW - There’s no improvement in Russia’s business and investment climate, deputy economy minister Andrey Sharonov told the state duma lower chamber on Monday.

Business remained cautious about the government’s policies, he said, blaming the country’s “unsatisfactory investment climate” on the YUKOS case and uncertainty over possible tax claims for 2001-2002 against some companies.

Sharonov said Russia was ahead of developed nations in terms of GDP growth last year, but it was behind some developing nations and countries of the CIS. Russia’s GDP grew 7.1 percent in 2004 compared with the previous year, according to preliminary reports by the state statistics service.

“The year 2004 was a sixth consecutive year when the Russian economy grew,” Sharonov said adding that the country’s GDP was growing by 0.5 percent a month last year.

He stressed the necessity for investment in large oilfields and pipeline projects to boost domestic manufacturing. Sharonov forecast a 5 percent growth in manufacturing this year, against 6.1 percent in 2004. He said the decline was due to slowdown in export-oriented industries.

Some industries, including communications, food, chemical, forestry and construction, could grow by more than 7 percent in 2005, Sharonov said. “But they account for only one third of the Russian economy,” he remarked.