A major Kuwaiti investment fund plans to invest $500 million in Russia’s direct investment fund, set up to lure foreign investment to modernize the Russian economy, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov said on Thursday.
“The most renowned and the largest Kuwaiti investment fund which has a strong reputation, will invest $500 million,” Ivanov said.
This money will be invested in the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) rather in any specific project, he said.
“They say the money will go to any project which you will finance with your own funds, and we are ready to invest our share, which is considerably larger than the RDIF share. This is evidence of a high level of confidence,” Ivanov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Russia’s direct investment fund was established in June 2011 to co-finance investment by foreign funds and companies in Russian projects and is managed by Vnesheconombank.
Russia’s sovereign fund, which will have a capital of about $10 billion contributed by the federal budget, is expected to attract from $60 billion to $90 billion in foreign investment within five years.
Ivanov also said US-based BlackRock global investment fund, which manages $3.3 trillion in assets, intends to invest in several Russian companies that will go public through initial public offerings.
“The fund will sign an agreement to the effect that they will invest in a whole number of Russian companies in proportion of about one ruble contributed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund to four to five rubles worth of foreign investment,” Ivanov said.