Chinese rating agency wants presence in Russia
China's Dagong rating agency has decided to open its own subsidiary in Russia after failing to agree to form a joint agency with potential partners.
Russian daily Vedomosti reports that Dagong was looking to partner with one of Russia’s largest rating agencies; Expert RA, Rus-Rating and the National Rating Agency (NRA).
However, the Chinese were not satisfied with the structure of these companies, some of which are torn with corporate conflicts, according to the newspaper.
Dagong representatives visited Russia and met Central Bank officials, but the details of the negotiations haven’t been disclosed.
Dagong was established in 1994 and its ratings are recognized by the Chinese state. The agency has rated major Russian corporations such as Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Gazprombank and Metalloinvest. Energy major SOGAZ and VTB bank are also planning to be assessed by Dagong. This could attract additional Chinese capital into Russian companies.
The Chinese rating agency has already been involved in Russian projects. In 2012, along with Rus-Rating and America’s Eagan-Jones, Dagong registered Universal Credit Rating Group (UCRG) in Hong Kong. However, the project was de-facto closed in April.
Russia said it would launch its own rating agency which is expected to give its first assessments in the second or third quarter of 2016. The company is headed by Ekaterina Trofimova, the vice president of Russian state-owned Gazprombank. The initial capital would be at about $52 million split between 27 shareholders in equal parts.
