The Moscow stock exchange will soon issue nearly $1 billion-worth of yuan-denominated bonds. It could become the start of a new financial system not based on the US dollar, analysts say.
Russia will issue the 6 billion yuan (about $900 million) bonds with a five-year maturity in December or January. The Central Bank says it is testing the water for future investments.
“Such steps will make it possible to remove the dollar from mutual settlements and use only yuan and rubles (mostly yuan for the moment) in the mid-term, if more specialists from the Russian financial sector work in this direction,” Gleb Zadoya, Head of Analytics at Analitika Online told RT.
Russian bonds in yuan could be interesting for the Chinese, as China has trillions of dollars of excessive liquidity, as well as hundreds of thousands of new investors who are interested in trying new markets, the analyst said.
For Russia, facing a new round of US sanctions aimed at its bond market, it is a great opportunity to get closer to China, according to Zadoya.
Petr Pushkarev, Chief Analyst at TeleTrade, says investing in Russian yuan bonds is a great opportunity for Chinese investors to diversify their dollar-dominated portfolios.
“The step itself is more symbolic for now, because $1 billion is too little given the relations between Russia and China. Yet this is the beginning of a long journey, and this is a landmark move that shows the international monetary system is moving towards multipolarity, and that Russia is ready to take active steps in this direction with a certain development of events,” he told RT.
According to Pushkarev, It is very natural for China, Russia and other countries to want to create a dollarless system.
“By doing so, they can gradually abandon the obsolete system of dollar settlements, where the US dominates and doesn’t fully accept Russia or other countries as equal and respected partners,” said Pushkarev.
The Russian bonds boast high yields, and even western investors are likely to find ways to bypass any possible American sanctions, says Ivan Kapustiansky, Forex Optimum analyst.
“The five-year Russian euro bonds are trading at 3.2 percent per annum, and the Chinese government securities boast a 3.6-3.9 percent yield. However, Russian bonds in yuan are likely to offer a better yield than the Chinese national debt,” he told RT.