2 Jun 2011 16:57

MinFin to lengthen OFZ bonds to 5 yrs

MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry intends to lengthen the average duration of Federal Loan Bonds (OFZ) to five from 3.5 years, a ministry official said.

"Lengthening the duration is our priority - the average is currently 3.5 years but we want this to approach five," the deputy head of the Finance Ministry's department for state debt and state financial assets, Pyotr Kazakevich, said at a conference on the Russian bond market.

The MinFin also plans to replace "obsolete issues with new ones to support their liquidity," Kazakevich said, adding that a certain premium would be offered on these papers in order to encourage investors.