Ministry raises wealth fund to 12.2 tln rbl, starts selling currency

MOSCOW, Mar 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian Finance Ministry has transferred to the National Wealth Fund the currency it purchased under the budget rule in 2019 and immediately began selling it to finance a deal to buy a controlling stake in Sberbank from the central bank, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“On March 16, under a decision of the Finance Ministry, the Federal Treasury transferred additional oil and gas revenues received in 2019 to the National Wealth Fund. As a result of the transfer, the volume of the National Wealth Fund reached 12.2 trillion rubles,” the ministry said.

The volume of the National Wealth Fund stood at almost 8.25 trillion rubles as of March 1.

“In order to implement a deal to buy a controlling stake in Sberbank the Russian Finance Ministry launched operations to sell foreign currency,” the ministry said.

(77.2131 rubles – U.S. $1)

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