By Sarah Day Levesque

 

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF) and the government of China’s Heilongjiang province have agreed on the creation of an investment fund to support agricultural projects, according to reports from a Russian state-run news source.

 

RDIF CEO, Kirill Dmitriev, told RIA Novosti, “The sides intend to form a special investment fund of $2 billion, our share is a minor one, it will be mostly the money of institutional Chinese investors, including those with significant experience in investment in the agricultural sector.”

 

Dmitriev explained that there were already up to 10 projects being considered, which include agriculture sector development projects in the Far East.

 

The deal was signed just before Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting Moscow, was to sit down for talks with Russian President Vlatimir Putin, according to reports from Reuters.

 

RDIF is a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund established by the Russian government to invest in Russian economic development projects and the sovereign wealth funds of other nations. RDIF, along with China Investment Corporation (CIC) established the RCIF in 2012, a private equity fund designed to invest in projects that foster economic cooperation between Russia and China. The fund focuses 70% of its capital in Russia and CIS nations and 30% in China.

 

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