Russian MinFin raises yuan upper limit in NWF to 60%, gold to 40%

MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry has approved a new statutory asset structure for the National Welfare Fund (NWF), increasing the upper limit for yuan to 60% and gold to 40%, the ministry said in a statement.

Each asset can now have a zero share, to ensure flexibility when investing NWF funds.

The balances on NWF accounts in pounds sterling and Japanese yen with the Bank of Russia have now been reset to zero.

The MinFin did not say how the statutory shares of other currencies had changed. There must still be an alternative to the yuan and gold, given that less than 60% of the NWF can be invested in the one and less than 40% in the other. The MinFin is not commenting on this.