Report: CEO says VTB plans to buy private clinic chain

MOSCOW, Aug 6 (PRIME) -- Russia's second biggest lender VTB is considering acquisition of a private clinic group, CEO Andrei Kostin told Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview released Friday.

VTB Capital acquired an 11.2% stake in Binnopharm Group's parent holding from Sistema at the end of June for 7 billion rubles.

Kostin said that the bank did not plan to enter the market of pharmaceuticals amid the pandemic. "We only buy to sell later. Sistema is our good client. They asked whether we would like to buy a stake in their business and help them develop it," Kostin said.

"We are also considering buying a stake in a private clinic. They played a significant role in the fight  against the coronavirus in Russia but they also develop not only thanks to COVID."

(73.1680 – U.S. $1)

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