Finance ministry says prepares to offer of mid-term yuan bonds

ST. PETERSBURG, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Finance Ministry is preparing to offer OFZ bonds denominated in the Chinese yuan, and expects local companies to become major buyers of the debt, Pyotr Kazakevich, head of the ministry’s state debt and state financial assets department, told reporters on Thursday.

A joint delegation of the Finance Ministry, the central bank, and the Moscow Exchange has recently returned from a visit to China.

“We found some new food for thought, and we are digesting it now. The technical side has been almost complete,” he said. “It will be a mid-term issue, or may be a bit shorter, with the term of three years.”

He said the Finance Ministry has a pool of possible organizers, and Gazprombank is a realistic candidate.

“Someone must need these bonds. And by saying someone I mean the Russian corporate sector. The goal to accumulate foreign currency and the Chinese yuan in particular is not a self-set goal of the Finance Ministry,” Kazakevich added.

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