ST. PETERSBURG, June 14 (RIA Novosti) - The release of EBRD ruble bonds may be regarded as step towards full convertibility of the Russian currency, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is Russia's old partner involved in a new project, the release of ruble bonds to the sum of 5 billion rubles ($175 million), Putin said at the foundation ceremony of the Toyota car factory near St. Petersburg. Putin thanked the EBRD heads for supporting the construction of the first Toyota factory in Russia. The bank's share in this project is 20%, he said. In May 2005, the EBRD released 5-year ruble bonds for the sum of 5 million rubles. The list of subscribers includes Raiffeisenbank, Citibank and ten other Russian and foreign banks.
According to EBRD Vice President for Finance Steven Kaempfer, it was the first time in the Russian history, when ruble bonds were released by a non-resident. A floating rate of the coupon that was set at 4.04 percent on year for the following three months. It will be reestablished once in three months in compliance with the current Moscow Prime Rate.
After the registration of the bonds at the federal service for financial markets, the EBRD will address the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) to list the bonds at the government's bond section and the Central Bank to add the EBRD bonds to lombard list, Kaempfer said.
The EBRD is a major investor on the Russian market. It invested some 6 billion euros in 200 projects, he added.
