As Crisis Deepens, EBRD Freezes New Investment in Russia

2014/7/23 23:51:32

"It is a harbinger of what is going to happen, which is the increasing capital isolation of Russia," said Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Center for International Political Economy.

 


From the Moscow Times:

 

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, on Wednesday froze financing of new projects in Russia amid escalating international condemnation of Russia's alleged role in the downing of a passenger jet in eastern Ukraine.

 

"A majority of the board of directors of the EBRD, including all European Union member states and several non-EU shareholders, have given clear guidance to the EBRD management that, for the time being, they will be unable to approve new investment projects in the Russian Federation," the organization said in a statement Wednesday.

 

The London-based development bank will continue work on its 305 active projects in Russia, where its operating portfolio amounts to 8.4 billion euros ($11 billion).

 

While the loss of new EBRD investments is far from trivial — about 19 percent of its investments, or nearly $1 billion, went to Russia in the first half of this year — the decision suggests that worse may be on the horizon, analysts said.

 

"It is a harbinger of what is going to happen, which is the increasing capital isolation of Russia," said Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Center for International Political Economy.

 

For complete text, link below:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/busines ... ent-in-russia/503989.html

Printer Friendly Page Send this Story to a Friend Create a PDF from the article