Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to work out the issue of increasing the amount of funds from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) attracted by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for the implementation of projects in the field of petrochemicals. This is stated in a message published on the Kremlin website.
The decision about funds from the fund, which is called the “main money box of Russia”, will be made by the end of May. The order was issued after a meeting on the strategic development of the petrochemical industry: then the president said that the Russian industry has great growth potential, and abroad.
Current legislation allows NWF funds to be spent when they reach the 7 percent of GDP. At the moment, the liquid part of the fund is equal to 7.1 percent of GDP. In December 2020, speaking at an annual press conference, Putin pointed out that the NWF remains the main tool for dealing with potential crises. “This is an airbag. This does not mean that we are preparing for something, some new shocks. But we must have an airbag,” the president explained.
Not long before this, the head of state assured that the authorities would not throw money from the fund. He recalled that the funds of the NWF can be spent only if the volume of the fund exceeds seven percent of GDP and noted that the funds of the NWF should be directed to projects on a repayable basis. It was reported that 20 percent of the NWF is already in the economy, having been invested in large infrastructure projects. “For example, the Central Ring Road in Moscow is funded by the NWF. Rolling stock is being purchased for Russian Railways. This is good for transport, and for maintaining jobs, and for developing transport engineering,” the president said.