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China and Qatar seek more Russia investment as U.S. interest fades

24 May 2014 01:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Sovereign wealth funds in China and Qatar on Friday signaled their increased commitment to Russia, boosting Moscow's hopes of strengthening ties with Asia and the Middle East as relations with the West deteriorate, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Major sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia have invested in Russian businesses and backed its state-funded private equity fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). By contrast, U.S. financial investors in the country remain few.

"CIC has invested several billions of dollars in Russia," said Ding Xuedong, chairman of the $575 billion CIC, on the sidelines of the country's main annual investment conference in St Petersburg.

"We will continue to increase our investment in Russia, not only in the public markets, but in direct investments," he said.

Russia's RDIF separately announced that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, is allocating $2 billion to investments with the fund.

Numerous U.S. financiers avoided the annual investment conference in St Petersburg on advice from the White House. Washington and the European Union have imposed sanctions against various individuals deemed close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the situation in Ukraine.

"In our platforms - we raised $10 billion from our partners - around 90 percent came from Asia and the Middle East," said Kirill Dmitriev, the RDIF chief executive. "Those longer-term investors ... take a longer-term view on Russia. They see some turbulence but realize it is impossible to isolate the sixth-largest economy in the world."

Among those present on a panel discussion on Friday were senior executives at Korea Investment Corporation and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). European funds, facing less government pressure than their U.S. counterparts, also showed commitment to Russia.

"We think there is a lot of potential in this country," said Laurent Vigier, CEO at France's CDC International Capital. "We are looking actively at the moment at opportunities in this country and are optimistic about the medium and long term."