Russia & China set up yuan-denominated fund for joint investments

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has launched a regional fund worth 6-7 billion yuan (around $1 billion) with its Chinese partners.

The fund will mainly focus on investing in strategically-important projects in Russia and China in equal proportion, according to RDIF, which announced the fund’s establishment at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing.

For Chinese projects, it will mainly focus on Belt and Road related projects and other perspective sectors, it said. The fund has initially accumulated 1 billion yuan (around $150 million). The target capital will be raised from leading institutional investors in China.

“The Fund will engage in the implementation of strategically important investment projects, focused on the Central Federal District, the Far East of Russia and the north-eastern part of China,” said CEO of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev.

The fund “will actively promote the strengthening of economic ties at an inter-regional level, through the use of national currencies in all settlements,” he added.

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The Co-CEO and President of Russia-China Investment Fund, Bing Hu noted that “It is especially important that the fund is formed in RMB [Chinese yuan – Ed.], which will reduce foreign exchange risk between RMB and RUB [Russian ruble – Ed.] via other currencies.”

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