Russia offers huge potential for Ireland both in terms of financial and human investment, Paul Price, managing director of Delta Private Equity Partners, said yesterday.

Mr Price, who manages two Russian funds focused mainly on retail and consumer services, said the potential returns on financial investments in Russia were significantly higher than those closer to home because of the increased risk and the fast growth of the services sector.

However, he played down the potential risks, saying that, from the inside where he has been working for the past decade, they were not significant.

Mr Price, who was in Dublin to speak at the Russian investment conference, said Irish companies were in a good position to supply funds to Russian businesses as they tended to favour money from transparent sources, rather than from their own investors, whose backgrounds are sometimes less traceable.

He also said there was great potential for Irish companies to set up partnerships to provide advice and skills to the Russian services sector.

Charles Ryan, chief executive of United Financial, Russia's leading investment bank, which was sold to Deutsche Bank last year, said Irish companies could also benefit from Russian investment.

Up to $30 billion (€25 billion) in domestic funds is available in Russia - compared with just $1 billion in foreign funds - and that domestic money could be invested outside the country's borders.

Both speakers urged Irish investors to seize the opportunity now before the outlook changes. Currently Delta's funds have no Irish investors.