UPDATE: Report: Official: Russia can regain 2 investment grade ratings ‘17

(Adds details in last 2 paragraphs)

DAVOS, Jan 19 (PRIME) – Russia can get back two of investment grade credit ratings in 2017, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told Bloomberg in an interview published on Thursday.

By now, only Fitch rates Russia at the investment level of BBB-, while S&P’s rating stands at BB+ and Moody’s at Ba1, both in the speculative range.

Shuvalov said that the Russian economy can grow by 2% in 2017, if events unfold under a positive scenario.

The official gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2017 by the Economic Development Ministry is 0.6% if the average oil price is U.S. $40 per barrel and 1.1% if the oil price is $48.

According to Shuvalov, the government plans to elaborate a comprehensive set of measures in order to decrease long-term volatility of the ruble.

Foreign currency purchases on the market can restart after a recent decision by the government to avoid spending of any additional oil and gas revenue of the budget and to put it in reserves, Shuvalov said.

Shuvalov separately said that he personally sees no need in privatizing a 10.9% stake in second biggest lender VTB in 2017. However the Russian government can agree to privatize the asset if they receive a good proposal.

Shuvalov said that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is ready to buy a stake in the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), which is to be sold in 2017-2019, jointly with foreign partners, such as foreign sovereign investment funds.

Shuvalov said that the government will most probably write a privatization plan for Russian Railways, and container shipping company TransContainer will probably be put on the list of assets to be sold.

End