Russian, Chinese investment institutions to further cooperation: Russian fund

MOSCOW, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior Russian investment official has forecast a profitable future for cooperation between Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and China Investment Corporation (CIC).

In a recent interview with Xinhua, RDIF Chief Executive Officer Kirill Dmitriev said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's China visit on Tuesday and Wednesday would significantly facilitate the tangible cooperation between the two countries, including that between the RDIF and CIC.

The RDIF, a new fund worth 10 billion U.S. dollars, was established in June by the Russian government to make equity investments primarily in the Russian economy.

Dmitriev, who was scheduled to leave Moscow Monday for China, said meetings with Chinese colleagues during his trip would bring breakthroughs in joint projects the two funds had been working on.

According to the CEO, there has been active contact between the two investment corporations on many projects, with CIC providing a good example for the RDIF.

"We are studying and using in our works much of what they have done," Dmitriev said.

CIC was established in 2007 with the issuance of special bonds worth RMB 1.55 trillion by China's Finance Ministry. These were used to acquire approximately 200 billion U.S. dollars of China's foreign exchange reserves and formed the foundation of its registered capital.

The CEO told Xinhua he was confident about the cooperation with CIC and believed the two sides would make deals in various projects in the next six to nine months.

"These projects are going to be investments into companies that would bring high profits and facilitate cooperation between China and Russia," Dmitriev said. "Therefore, new jobs will be created in both countries and it will be positive for economic growth."

Dmitriev also mentioned RDIF's International Advisory Board (IAB).

"There are real professional stars in the IAB, like CIC Chairman Lou Jiwei, representatives of sovereign funds from Kuwait, heads of leading direct investment funds and others," Dmitriev said.

He said the RDIF had created a "very strong team," including the IAB, to address the investment issues in Russia and it was considering investing in 20 projects worth more than 5 billion dollars in the country.

The Russian government expected the RDIF to resolve problems such as taxation improvement for long-term investors, Dmitriev said.

He said the RDIF was interested in investment in the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, logistics fields and infrastructure, as well as Chinese projects.

"Russia and China are two great countries that could realize their potential through joint projects. We will support these projects, financing them," Dmitriev said.