BEIJING, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's major state-owned savings bank, Sberbank, has asked several Chinese banks for loans to finance large investment projects in Russia, a senior Sberbank official said Wednesday.
Sberbank Board Vice Chair Alexander Zakharov told a press conference in the Chinese capital that earlier this year, the bank had signed an agreement with Sinosure, China's only export credit insurance corporation.
He said the deal made it possible to fund the short-term commercial transactions of Russian companies and to invest in projects run by Sberbank's corporate clients to buy equipment from China.
It was with this agreement in mind that Sberbank suggested Chinese banks provide lines of credit guaranteed by Sinosure, Zakharov said.
Chinese investment in the Russian economy is expected to reach $12 billion by 2020, the Sberbank official said, adding that the investment boom could be accompanied by substantial improvement in the terms of Chinese credit lines.
In the next few years, Russian and Chinese banks will also focus on improving conditions for money transfers by individuals, Zakharov said.
Other priorities include stepping up efforts to select and finance promising investment projects in Russia and China, boosting regional cooperation, financing joint ventures, and increasing the role of banks in advancing their clients' businesses and improving the structure of bilateral trade.
Commenting on the upcoming signing of a Russian-Chinese memorandum on government regulation of the banking sector, Zakharov said, "Business should work according to certain rules, and the signing of the memorandum is a step toward setting down such rules."
He also said that the document would create a foundation for systemic reform in the sector, from which "both countries are sure to benefit."
The memorandum is expected to be signed by officials of the Russian Central Bank and China's State Committee for Banking Activity Regulation during a meeting between the countries' prime ministers November 3 and 4.
