Limit on FX operations as part of 'departure' deals could be floating, depending on market trends - Russian MinFin

MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The limit on conversion operations conducted on the FX market to pay for transactions to acquire Russian assets from "unfriendly" non-residents leaving Russia may not be fixed.

"In general, it could be some kind of floating value that depends on the situation on the FX market," the Russian Finance Ministry press service told Interfax.

Decisions to authorize such transactions are made by a subcommittee of the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investment headed by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The practice of regulating currency exchange transactions as part of a particular deal has existed since last year, but so far it has extended to individual transactions (for example, a request was satisfied provided that FX purchases in the domestic market were limited to an amount not exceeding $150 million per day).

"When making decisions, the subcommittee has always taken into account and takes into account market conditions. This is necessary in order to avoid destabilization of the currency market," the Finance Ministry said.

Interfax has sent an inquiry to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

The newspapers Vedomosti and Kommersant reported that authorities are discussing the introduction of a certain aggregate limit on FX transactions within the scope of transactions permitted by the subcommittee.