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Sberbank CIB CEO: Asian Investors’ Interest in Russian Market will Continue to Grow

Sberbank CIB CEO: Asian Investors’ Interest in Russian Market will Continue to Grow

Asian investors’ interest in the Russian financial market will continue to grow, said Igor Bulantsev, acting CEO of Sberbank CIB, the investment subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia, in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"Asian investments in Russia have constantly grown in recent years, becoming more and more significant. We are engaged in very active dialogue, covering a variety of types of investment, too. For example, Asian investors were among those we spoke to when placing Alrosa shares," Mr Bulantsev said.

"Numerous joint projects are being carried out with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. (RDIF – editor’s note). We have also become much more active with regards to China. When the market starts to recover, I think we will see many more investors from Asia, and their interest and participation in our economy will continue to grow," he explained.

“Since the lifting of international sanctions from Iran, Sberbank has paid a lot of attention to the Iranian market, making active, though painstaking, efforts to find optimal cooperation opportunities,” Mr Bulantsev said. In his words, Sberbank’s entry into the Iranian market is only a matter of time.

"We follow Russian business when it comes to pursuing our interests in Iran and cooperating with Iranian banks. As soon as business has an interest in Iran, we seek to offer our solutions, paving the way for further development. This, however, does not necessarily mean having offices there, since we can work from Moscow just as well," the acting CEO of Sberbank CIB explained.

"But it’s too early to go into much detail yet, the matter is rather sensitive, despite the easing of the sanctions regime. There are many subtleties, which require complex, painstaking efforts to find the right forms for interaction, because we are scrupulous about both existing and potential limitations and difficulties," he added.

Sberbank and Iran are discussing issues relating to interbank questions, loro and nostro accounts, payments, and provision of support to client operations through client financing, among many other issues. "The work is being undertaken at quite a pace", the acting head of Sberbank CIB added.

Source: https://ria.ru/economy/ (Russian)

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