VTB will host its 14th Investment Forum RUSSIA CALLING! to find new impetus for transformation
Yicai Global 05.12.2023
On December 7-8, VTB will host the 14th Investment Forum “RUSSIA CALLING!” at the Moscow World Trade Center.
The changes in the political, financial and information landscape pose new challenges for the gradual development of national economies and international cooperation. It is essential to explore the risks and opportunities on the way forward and to find momentum for transformation. The forum will explore this issue with participants and guests from government agencies, representatives of the Russian business community and investors from China, India, Turkey, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
Andrey Kostin, President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, laid out the agenda for the forum, saying: “Amid the changing economic paradigm, the consolidation of the most active part of our society – the entrepreneurs – is especially crucial. The economy is currently focused on introducing and implementing breakthrough technologies, executing infrastructure projects, and creating new financial instruments. Many of these goals can be reached only through cooperation. It is not only about globalization anymore, but about partnerships and mutual investments. At what stage of the process are we right now, what kind of risks and opportunities lie ahead of us, where do we find stimuli for transformation – we will try to find answers to these questions at the RUSSIA CALLING! Forum.”
It is worth mentioning that VTB has been in the Chinese market for 15 years. VTB is a Russian bank with a full license in Mainland China. In April 2023, the volume of Sino-Russian foreign trade transactions through VTB Shanghai reached an all-time high. Through its Shanghai branch, VTB strives to become a bank that combines both a broad Russian customer base and leading foreign trade experience, playing an important fundamental role in the settlement of Sino-Russian trade.
As Kostin already mentioned, China is the world’s second largest economy, the Russian Central Bank invests its reserves in yuan, and more than 70 percent of Sino-Russian trade is settled in yuan and rubles. The yuan is in great demand among Russian buyers.
He also proposed developing financial cooperation between Russia and China across a number of areas, including: rapidly completing the development and implementation of the digital yuan and digital ruble and taking measures to ensure the security of transactions between Russia and China; improving the security of payments and settlements infrastructure; ensuring unhindered cross-border currency transfers for individuals and legal entities of the two countries; wider involvement of the Chinese banking sector in joint financing of large Russian industrial and infrastructure projects in Russia; providing convenient payment methods for tourists; expanding the market for yuan deposits in Russia and providing Russian investors with a market for yuan financial instruments available on the Chinese securities market.
On the first day of the Forum, government officials and representatives of the leading Russian and international companies will discuss the developmental trajectory of the Russian economy, as well as the most effective strategies for strengthening countries’ monetary sovereignty in the current environment. For the first time in the history of the Forum, the second day will feature exclusive private meetings with the participation of retail investors. Attendees will be able to exchange their views on the prospects of financial markets and discuss the challenges the investment community is facing today. The forum will be held in person. Everyone will be able to view the broadcast of the first day’s session and listen to speakers live from anywhere in the world.