International investors are actively looking for ways to bypass anti-Russian sanctions to buy Russian assets of companies operating in Russia, available to them on the world market, have increased by tens of percent since the start of the negotiations between Russia and the US, reports Bloomberg.
A partner at the New York-based law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Grigory Marinichev, told the agency that hedge funds, family offices and private investors are showing interest in Russian assets. “They want to be the first in the potentially newly available business. But for now, all we can advise them is to follow the news,” he said.
As the agency writes, investors are buying up “everything that has even the slightest connection with Russia.” According to him, Rusal shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose by 75% in February. Shares of Austrian bank Raiffeisen and Hungarian OTP have grown this year by 35% and 11%, respectively. The Austrian bank has a branch in Russia, and the Hungarian one continues to operate in the country despite European sanctions.
At the same time, some experts warn investors against optimism regarding possible deals in Russia, pointing to the scale of restrictive measures in Western countries, the agency writes. Thus, the Center for European Policy Analysis states that “it could take years“ before investors from Western countries can freely invest in Russia.
On February 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump spoke by phone. The presidents discussed a wide range of topics, including the Ukrainian conflict and bilateral relations. On February 18, high-ranking delegations from Russia and the United States met in Riyadh. After the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the countries had reached an agreement on the appointment of Russian ambassadors to the United States and US ambassadors to the Russian Federation as soon as possible.