MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Stabilization Fund, set up to harvest windfall revenues from high oil prices, will hold 3,740 billion rubles ($135 billion) by January 1, 2009, the Russian finance minister said Tuesday.
Alexei Kudrin told journalists that Russia's financial plan for 2007-2009 envisioned that in early 2007 the fund would reach 1,756 billion rubles ($63.4 billion) and 2,724 billion rubles ($98.3 billion) in early 2008.
The figures take into account early repayment of Russia's Soviet-era debt to the Paris Club of creditor nations worth $12 billion, scheduled for this year.
Kudrin also said the budget surplus in 2009 would be 951 billion rubles ($34.3 billion), with revenue at 7,034 billion rubles ($253.9 billion) and spending at 6,083 billion rubles ($219.6 billion). The projected surplus figures for 2007 and 2008 are 936 billion rubles ($33.8 billion) and 966 billion rubles ($34.9 billion).
He said that the 2007 budget was based on an oil price of $49 per barrel, and $46 for 2008-9.
