Russian Railways, FGC to issue up to 100 bln rubles in infrastructure bonds in June
SOCHI. April 23 (Interfax) - Russian Railways (RZD) and Federal Grid Company UES (FGC) will each issue infrastructure bonds totalling up to 100 billion rubles in June, Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov said.
"We are planning that the first tranches of infrastructure bonds from RZD and Federal Grid Company might already be carried out in June," Belousov told reporters, adding that the limits would be 100 billion rubles for each company.
He said projects that will be financed by the infrastructure bonds are at a high stage of preparedness. The bonds will be bought with funds from the Pension Fund.
In future, if the order is given, National Wealth Fund money might be channelled through Vnesheconombank (VEB) to finance infrastructure projects, Belousov said. However, there are questions about how to select projects.
Belousov said his ministry has worked out criteria for selecting such projects at four levels. The first level involves a strategic audit, beginning with the question of whether or not this is a project. The second level is a technological audit, the third is a price audit and the fourth is an audit of the project itself and the company for which it will be carried out.
