Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund, says that it plans to double its joint private equity fund with China Investment Corporation to US$4 billion from US$2 billion, according to Chinese state media.
Last June, China Investment Corp (CIC) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) each committed US$1 billion to jointly establish the US$2 billion joint fund, the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF).
More than 70 percent of the fund’s capital will be invested in businesses and projects across Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States, and up to 30 percent will focus on Chinese businesses and projects with Russian involvement.
At the time, the two parties said the RCIF would seek to raise US$1 billion to US$2 billion of additional capital from third-party investors. It is not clear from where the additional US$2 billion will be raised.
The RCIF made its first investment of US$200 million for a minority stake in Russia Forest Products, the country’s second-largest forestry company, last September.
Dmitriev says the RCIF is currently looking for investment opportunities in agriculture, logistics and machinery in both China and Russia.
Founded in September 2007, Beijing-headquartered CIC manages US$482 billion.
RDIF is a private equity fund established in June 2011 by the Russian government with US$10 billion under management.
