Joint fund on hunt for investment opportunity

Project can provide positive synergy between Chinese, Russian economies

Chinese and Russian sovereign wealth funds are ready to double the size of their joint equity fund and increase its investment projects this year.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund, told China Daily it plans to double its joint private equity fund with China Investment Corporation to $4 billion.

Six to seven new deals will be made in 2013 thanks to warming bilateral relations.

Establishment of the $2 billion Russia-China Investment Fund was announced during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China last June.

The fund made its first investment of $200 million for a minority stake in Russia Forest Products, the country's second-largest forestry company.

The fund is looking for investment opportunities in other areas including agriculture, logistics and machinery in China and Russia, said Dmitriev.

"We want to do three or four deals in each of the key sectors of the economy, because the value is not only to get returns, but also to set examples to show that Russian and Chinese businesses can invest together and make returns together," he said.

He said the fund, the first such joint fund among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and APEC economies, can serve as an example of synergy for other countries.

Some investors from Australia and other nations are becoming interested in the fund, and will probably be introduced as limited partners to share the risks, but the two general partners will hold decision-making power, he said.

Dmitriev serves as co-CEO of the Russia-China Investment Fund, while Hu Bing from the China Investment Corporation is its president and co-CEO.

Making money and getting returns is a principle for choosing projects. The fund will look at large and established companies and then consider small to medium-sized enterprises, Dmitriev said.