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Russia facing difficulties over attracting funding from foreign financial markets

The current financial market volatility is creating certain difficulties for Russian banks to finance infrastructure projects, Sberbank CEO German Gref said
Sberbank CEO German Gref ITAR-TASS/Zurab Dzhavakhadze
Sberbank CEO German Gref
© ITAR-TASS/Zurab Dzhavakhadze

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Moscow is currently facing difficulties to attract funding both from the western and eastern financial markets, Sberbank's CEO German Gref said on Thursday.

“The thesis that we have not seen the western funds is very bad. Colleagues, you won’t see the eastern money. You should not be waiting for this. Today we see an enormous rivalry for money,” he told a working breakfast as part of the Russian Transport forum.

Russia’s former economy minister, Gref said he had visited a number of “eastern” countries together with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev.

“I want to say that there are no volunteers lining up to invest in this country. Only we are standing in a queue for money, first of all, from sovereign funds,” Gref said, stressing the need to build an efficient project management system.

The current financial market volatility is creating certain difficulties for Russian banks to finance infrastructure projects, Gref said, urging for introducing a new strategy for attracting private investment.

“Third, and in my opinion, most important is a radical paradigm shift linked to the protection of rights of private investors involved in these /infrastructure/ projects,” Gref said.