First Russia-China investment underway in Far East

A fund jointly launched by Russia and China may put its first investment in the Far East region, a Russian fund CEO said here Friday.

The money may be used for projects in such fields as transportation, agriculture, forestry and lumbering, Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of the Russian Direct Investments Fund (RDIF), told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The 4-billion-U.S.-dollar Russia-China Investment Fund, jointly established by the RDIF and China Investment Corp., will also invest in other Russian regions in addition to the Far East, Dmitriev said.

"Currently, some 10 projects are under negotiations within the framework of the fund, mainly in fields like agriculture and logistics," he said.

Besides, the fund will also pay attention to joint projects in China, under a stipulation that some 30 percent of the fund should be used in such Chinese projects, he added.

The joint investment fund was officially launched in June when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China. The launching ceremony was witnessed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Putin.

Highly valuing the fund as a good example of investment in the Asia-Pacific region, Dmitriev said more and more investors are paying attention to and showing interests in the fund.

On the prospects of Russia-China cooperation on investment, he said the two sides should strengthen their coordination over both opportunities and problems.

Also, "the two countries should promote mechanism construction by creating more joint programs like the Russia-China Investment Fund," Dmitriev said, urging the two countries to join hands in creating demonstration projects to attract more investments.

During the ongoing APEC meetings, leaders and representatives from 21 APEC member economies are expected to exchange views over liberalization of trade and investment.

Dmitriev urged the APEC members to pay more attention to the liberalization of investment.

"In the past years, we have attached great importance to the liberalization of trade and reached tangible results in the field. Now, we are focusing on the liberalization of investment, which, I believe, will bolster a faster regional economic development," he said.

The RDIF, a fund worth 10 billion dollars, was established last June by the Russian government to make equity investments primarily in the domestic economy.