ST. PETERSBURG, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Net private capital inflow in Russia exceeded $60 billion in the first five months of 2007, the chairman of the Russian Central Bank (CBR) said Thursday.
Net private capital inflow in Russia stood at $42 billion in 2006, Sergei Ignatyev told an international banking forum in St. Petersburg.
Ignatyev said auctions for the assets of bankrupt oil company Yukos and the initial public offerings by state-run retail savings bank Sberbank and government-controlled foreign trade bank Vneshtorgbank (VTB) were the main factors contributing to a sharp increase in capital inflow in Russia.
At the same time, net private capital inflow in Russia is a major factor for the increase of the country's gold and foreign currency reserves, Ignatyev said.
Russia's international reserves grew from $303.7 billion as of January 12 to $402.2 billion as of May 25.
At the same time, Ignatyev said capital inflow in Russia would decrease in coming months and contribute to slower growth in the country's gold and foreign currency reserves and money supply.
As a result, the Central Bank will be able to keep inflation within the 8% target and the ruble's appreciation against the dollar/euro basket will stay within the range of 4-5% in 2007, Ignatyev said.
The ruble gained 2.3% against the dollar/euro basket in the first five months of 2007 against 5.4% in the same period last year, Ignatyev said.
Russia's net capital inflow will be well over $70 billion by the end of the year, with a forecasted figure of $42 billion, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.
"For today, our estimates say capital inflow has reached more than $60 billion, and by the end of the year the figure will obviously top $70 billion," Kudrin said on the sidelines of the 16th International Banking Congress in St. Petersburg.
