Russia can effectively borrow 1.3 trln rubles in 2012 - deputy minister
MOSCOW. May 14 (Interfax) - Russia can effectively borrow 1.3 trillion rubles on the market in 2012, Deputy Finance Minister Tatyana Nesterenko said Monday at a meeting of the State Duma budget committee.
"According to the anticipated estimate, it will be possible to get 1.3 trillion rubles on the market fairly effectively, if there is no dramatic deterioration of the economic situation," Nesterenko said.
She recalled that amendments to the 2012 budget call for using 500 billion rubles of additional oil and gas revenues to replace borrowing. Therefore, instead of the 1.8 planned for this year in the budget law, the government intends to only borrow 1.3 trillion on the market.
"Market liquidity, the progress of placements, which gives us approximately 20 billion rubles in one auction, shows that it will be very problematic for us to get 1.8 trillion rubles from the market by the end of the year without dramatically increasing yields on government securities," Nesterenko said. The Finance Ministry is therefore proposing to replace some of the borrowing with additional oil and gas revenues.
This will make the budget more sound in terms of sources for financing expenditures, and brings the government position more in line with that of the Central Bank in terms of liquidity on the market, Nesterenko said.
If the market situation improves, the government will be able to borrow the full amount that was planned, and in that case save oil and gas revenues in the Reserve Fund, Nesterenko said.
