Jamestown reports:
"In February of this year, the [oil stabilization] fund, which was created in 2004 as a reserve to ensure that the federal budget could be balanced if the price of oil fell below a cut-off price (currently $27 per barrel), was split into a $129 billion Reserve Fund, which is invested abroad in low-yield securities and retains the Stabilization Fund’s original mandate, and a $33 billion National Welfare Fund (NWF)... That has now changed. Medvedev told the Finance Ministry and Central Bank that it was necessary 'to think about expanding the list of instruments for [the National Welfare Fund’s] investment to include securities of both Russian and foreign issuers.'"
It was only a matter of time, really. More white elephant projects are on their way.
Also, Medvedev doesn't seem to mind that his plan is technically against Russia's own laws, which are designed to protect the fund. But as Aslund and others have pointed out, oil funds were made to be looted.
2 comments:
So in response to the comment about taking a loan against your retirement for a weekend in Vegas...should I contact Medvedev or should Medvedev contact me? I could do this job with no problem.
Well, I'd suggest you start by demonstrating how good you can be at this task, it'll look great on the old resume.
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