Russian Direct Investment Fund and its Chinese partners to create a fund of $ 2 billion for investment in agribusiness – Vedomosti

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI), the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund and the People’s Government of Heilongjiang Province of China agreed to establish a dedicated fund for investment in agro Russia and China, told “Vedomosti” CEO RFPI Kirill Dmitriev. An agreement to this is planned to be signed during his visit to Russia President Xi Jinping May 8th.

The size of the fund will be, according to Dmitriev, $ 2 billion: it will be including money RFPI, but most of the funds will be raised from Chinese investors. Specific names he did not name. The investment will amount to an average of $ 100-200 million for the project. On a sign from the Russian Direct Investment Fund already has three companies that meet the necessary criteria, and the first investment may be concluded later this year, he did not rule Dmitriev.

China is important for Russian agricultural producers as the market where it is possible to export products, he continues: the weakening of the ruble access to Asian markets for Russian exporters became especially interesting, is not by chance more and more Russian companies are developing business Far East. For example, a group of companies “Rusagro” Vadim Moshkovich announced a major investment in the Far East in March 2015 its construction project in the first phase of the Primorsky Territory pig farms with capacity 79,000 tons per year and cost 16 billion rubles. the program has received state support project financing. Agro Holding already owns are about 26 000 hectares of farmland. Another large agricultural holding, operating in the Far East – “PentAgro” (a division of the “Synergy”). Plans to invest 10 billion rubles. in the construction of a grain terminal in the port of Zarubino Turkmen State United Grain Company (UGC) in the first phase capacity should reach 10 million tons, of which 5.6 million tons will take the export of Siberian regions and the rest – transit.

The return of interest

Many of the largest enterprises in China are willing to invest in the Russian agricultural sector, but do not yet have the financial support or a reliable local partner, said Dmitriev. Among the leaders of the Chinese agribusiness – meat producers New Hope Liuhe (capitalization on the Shanghai Stock Exchange – $ 6.9 billion), Muyuan Foodstuff ($ 2,9 млрд), Hunan Xinguang’an Agricultural Husbandry (a private company), Hunan Dakang Pasture Farming ($ 3.9 billion), cereals Beijing Dabeinong Technology ($ 5,9 billion) in and Heilongjiang Agriculture ($ 4,9 billion) in vegetables and fruits Cofco Tunhe ($ 4,1 billion) in etc.

In a conversation with “Vedomosti” Dmitriev noted that China – a major consumer of rice, production of which Russia has been actively building up. According to the USDA, China, being the world’s largest producer of rice (30% of the world market, or 144.5 million tons in the 2014/15 agricultural year), and at the same time the world’s largest importer of it (4.4 million tonnes). In Russia, the rice harvest last year totaled 1.05 million tons (Rosstat data).

On the question of whether there is among the companies with which RFPI negotiating such names as “Rusagro”, “PentAgro” and UGC, Dmitriev said: “These are examples of companies that for us to be interested. We do not exclude our investments for any of them. ” “Rusagro” is interested in a strategic investor who will help sell its products to the markets of Japan, China and Korea, said a source in the group. According to him, the company is talking with representatives of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

According to the person familiar with the plans of the investment fund, RFPI has long talks about investments with agricultural holding “Kuban” Oleg Deripaska. “Kuban” involved in such negotiations, confirms a person close to the company. Russian Direct Investment Fund and its Chinese partners carefully and look at the AFG “National” (Russia’s largest producer of rice), said a person close to one of the parties to the negotiations.

In April 2015 RFPI and structure of the minority shareholder UGC – a group of “Sum” signed a letter of intent for the joint development of the project “Big Port Zarubino” recalls UGC representative. The fund will attract to the project of leading international investors from the Asia-Pacific region, according to “Amount”. Since the grain terminal, which is involved in the construction and UGC, calculated including the transit of Chinese grain, then China may be interested in the project, a representative of state-owned points.

If the Russian agricultural sector come first Chinese investment, perhaps in the future the company will be easier to negotiate with themselves without the help of Chinese partners RFPI, hopes to top managers of major Russian agricultural holding.

Get comments representative of the Government of Heilongjiang Province yesterday failed.