Legal entities to be able to buy shares of unfriendly issuers without restrictions independent of qualified status - Russian Central Bank

MOSCOW. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The Russian Central Bank has decided that legal entities will be able to purchase the securities of unfriendly issuers without restrictions regardless of status as a qualified investor, the regulator said in a statement on its website.

The Central Bank earlier set limits on transactions with such assets for unqualified legal entity investors and clarified the rules for selling foreign securities to unqualified investors.

The share of foreign assets in the total value of an investor's portfolio will be calculated based on data from the end of the previous trading day. According to the Central Bank, rejecting online calculation will allow brokers to more quickly adjust the operating process.

The share of foreign securities in an investor's portfolio should not exceed 15% starting on October 1 and should total no more than 10% starting on November 1 and no more than 5% starting on December 1, in line with the instruction of the Central Bank.

Brokers are prohibited from carrying out the instructions of unqualified clients starting on January 1, 2023 if they increase positions on the securities of companies from unfriendly countries. The securities of foreign issuers whose main activities are carried out in Russia do not fall under restrictions.

Most major brokers have announced complete bans on unqualified investors trading in the securities of unfriendly countries from October 1, declining the Central Bank's proposed gradual introduction of restrictions on these transactions. They cite the technical unpreparedness of their trading systems for the introduction of such restrictions.