7 November 2016, 07:35 GMT
NOVOBUREISKY (Russia) (Sputnik) — State-owned China Investment Corporation (CIC) is interested in acquiring preferred shares of Russia's Transneft oil company, Transneft President Nikolay Tokarev said Thursday, adding that a discussion on the issue has already begun.
"Our Chinese partners were first and foremost also interested in acquiring Transneft preferred stocks portfolio… We supported this idea. At the moment, it is being developed, and it is highly likely that we will have new partners in Chinese [investors]," Tokarev told reporters.
The senior management of Transneft and CIC held a series of meetings in June, during which they discussed possibilities for future cooperation.
CIC has other interests in Russia, including the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), established jointly with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and investing in projects that advance the cooperation between the two countries.
