Russia to invest $50 mln in Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund
BISHKEK. April 1 (Interfax) - Russia will transfer $50 million within the next several days to the charter capital of the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak, who is also the fund's chairman, said at a briefing on Tuesday following a development fund board meeting.
The fund's equity, which will be $500 million, will be increased gradually in several tranches. Russia invested the first $100 million in 2014.
"By the end of this year, the fund's paid-in capital will be $350 million, and in the first half of next year - $500 million. The fund is being created in order to adapt Kyrgyzstan's business to the conditions of the Eurasian Economic Union. It will not lend to the government, but was created to carry out the investment projects of Russian and Kyrgyz companies within the republic," Storchak added.
A number of fundamental documents, "without which the practical activities of the fund as an international organization are impossible," were approved at the first meeting of the fund's board, Storchak said.
"Essentially, a development bank has been created between Russia and Kyrgyzstan. The approved documents include a regulation on the board that regulates the procedure for holding and preparing meetings, making decisions. The same applies to the procedures for the activities of the fund's management board - a permanent body that will be located in Bishkek. In addition, a number of policies on the basis of which the fund will operate were considered and approved. These are the credit and investment policy, as well as the procedure for providing financing," Storchak said.
The board also preliminarily considered the fund's budget, structure and staffing, he said.
"We exchanged views with colleagues and a large portion of doubts and discrepancies in positions were eliminated. We are proceeding from the assumption that the fund's management board acquires legitimacy after the first meeting of the board of directors. The first projects for implementation in Kyrgyzstan will be presented for the next meeting of the board, which is supposed to be held in the last third of May," Storchak said, adding that the Russian members of the management board have not been appointed yet.
"Our finance minister has submitted proposals to the government. One member of the management board will be a prominent employee of the trade mission of Russia. He has already agreed, understanding that in the next few years this fund will be the catalyst for development of Kyrgyz-Russian relations and the main link through which the economy of Kyrgyzstan will be joined with other EEU countries," Storchak said.