1 Dec 2010 15:29

CBR to start investing reserves in Australian dollars no earlier than mid-2011 - Ulyukayev

LONDON. Dec 1 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia will start investing reserves in Australian dollars no earlier than mid-2011, the CBR's First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists on the sidelines of a Russian banking forum organized by the Adam Smith Institute. "Several months are needed, half a year definitely," Ulyukayev said when Russia might start investing its international reserves in assets denominated in Australian dollars.

The CBR board of directors decided at its most recent meeting to put the Australian dollar on the list of currencies in which the Bank might invest funds. The regulator is currently doing the preparatory work needed for investing in a new currency - clinching account agreements and selecting agents, procedures that will take months, Ulyukayev said.

He did not specify how much might be invested in assets denominated in the Australian currency, nor did he provide a proportional figure for assets in Canadian dollars, in which the CBR recently began investing reserves.

The Bank has to consider a wide range of aspects associated with making changes of this sort, to assess risks and yield. "It seems to me that the Canadian market is bigger," Ulyukayev said, when asked about the volume of investments that might be made in either of the two dollars.