Moscow, Beijing investment fund to hit $2bn

A joint China-Russia investment fund with a capital base that is about to double to $2 billion will invest in “dozens of deals” that signal deepening financial ties between Beijing and Moscow. The Russia-China Investment Fund, jointly set up by sovereign wealth funds China Investment Corp and Russian Direct Investment Fund, has completed the paperwork for the capital increase, the fund’s chief executive, Kirill Dmitriev, told the South China Morning Post in Beijing. Established in June 2012, the fund has become a channel for Russia, under the sanctions of Western countries, to secure funding support from deep-pocketed Beijing. Dmitriev, who holds an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School, is using the fund as a platform to spur Chinese investment in Russia. The fund will partner with the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund that is backed by the Export and Import Bank of China. It will invest in Russian oil service firm Eurasia Drilling Co and United Transport Concession Holding.