Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is now the second-largest investor after the state in VTB, Russia’s state bank, following the privatisation of a 14 per cent government stake this month.
It was the second significant stake in a state bank to be sold as part of plans to privatise Russian banks announced in June 2012. In September, the central bank sold a 7.6 per cent share in Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, bringing the government ownership to 50 per cent plus one share.
China's trust industry saw its assets surge 64.72% YoY to RMB 8.73 trillion (USD1.4trln) at the end of the first quarter, according to figures from the China Trustee Association. The figure reflected a 16.87% increase from the end of last year.
The trust asset realized RMB 11.07 billion in gross profit in the first quarter, 43.41% more than in the same period of 2012.
“We like Russia and think it’s the cheapest way to buy into the oil and gas story. It’s cheap in both relative and absolute terms,” says Philip Poole, global head of strategy at HSBC Asset Management.
“The Russian issues are well known and that continues to dampen interest. But if you think the world economy is on the mend, then it is a cheap way to gain exposure to a cyclical market.”
The co-owners of Russian potash miner Uralkali have issued exchangeable unlisted bonds to VTB Capital, a subsidiary of the country's No.2 bank VTB, and to Chengdong Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of China's CIC.
The latest Hurun Global Rich List reveals that 1,453 people worldwide have a personal wealth of US$1 billion or more as of January 17, 2013. The U.S. and China share half of the world's billionaires, with 408 and 357 respectively, followed by Russia, Germany and India.
CIC (China Investment Corporation) signed a MOU with RDIF (Russian State Direct Investment Fund) to set up a joint USD2-4bn private equity fund.
Chinese-Russian Private Equity Fund's target size may reach USD4bn, with CIC and RDIF contributing USD1bn each, the rest is supposed to come from other private equity investors.