ICBC inks financing agreement for Russian plant

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH, 1398.HKG) agreed to provide US$1 billion to finance the construction of a Russian power plant, in a deal that highlights the growing investment relationship between the two countries, Financial Times reported. The plant will be built on the outskirts of Moscow by a joint venture between Chinese power company Huadian and Russian power company Territorial Generation Company; Chinese power equipment makers will supply the generation equipment. The announcement follows a string of deals signed when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing earlier this month. While investment is set to increase, capital flows between the two countries remain small: Russia invested just US$20 million in China in 2011, with US$182 million going in the opposite direction.