Russian presidential decree on investment guarantees sparks significant interest among non-residents, but no deals yet - Finance Ministry

CHOLPON-ATA. Aug 14 (Interfax) - The presidential decree on guarantees for new investments by non-residents has generated substantial interest, including from investors in unfriendly countries, but there is no information on actual deals yet, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said.

On July 1, President Vladimir Putin signed decree no. 436 on additional guarantees for foreign investors' rights, whose provisions apply to non-residents from both friendly and unfriendly countries. For new investments, they need to open a new type of account - an In account. Non-residents will have access to deposits in Russian banks, securities traded on organized markets in non-addressable mode as well as during primary offerings, and derivatives market instruments.

"I view all this with enthusiasm. So far, it's clear that there are no deals, at least I'm not aware of any. People are asking how this will work. That is, this has generated quite significant interest. There's already interest from unfriendly countries - people are calling and asking how it works. Several well-known individuals from major investment companies and funds have called to inquire, based on past connections," Moiseyev told journalists during the visit of a Russian delegation headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to Kyrgyzstan.

"I've actually also heard from a couple of people that they are already setting up funds to pool these kinds of investments. So, there's significant verbal interest. We'll see how it translates into money, but the verbal interest is substantial," he said.