SOCHI, October 6. /TASS/. Luxembourg is ready to set up a financial platform for operations in rubles, according to the documents prepared to the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Luxemburg Xavier Bettel.
Earlier the Luxemburg side proposed to set up a specialized fund under the auspices of the Moscow government at Luxemburg’s financial platform, to create parallel and cross funds in Moscow and Luxembourg with participation of Russian and international capital, to more actively use advantages of Luxembourg-based listing and bond issuance, to carry out mutually supportive operations on Luxembourg and Moscow bourses, the document said.
According to it, "Luxemburg’s leadership sees no obstacles for creating a financial platform for operations in rubles provided that there is a political will from the Russian side and enough demand and offer in the Russian national currency either."
In 2014 and 2015, a delegation from the Moscow government visited Luxembourg to forge cooperation in setting up an international financial center in Moscow.
The dynamics of the trade and economic cooperation between the two states "signals that mutual sanctions are negatively affecting the economy of the Grand Duchy first of all," the document said. In January-July 2015, mutual trade turnover decreased by 26.4% to $87.8 mln compared with the same period last year. Luxembourg’s import dropped almost by half to $61.9 mln while Russian export exceeded the level of first 7 months of 2014 fourfold to reach $25.9 mln.
Luxembourg is the third-largest foreign investor in Russia after Cyprus and the Netherlands. According to the data provided by the Russian Central Bank, the country’s investment in the Russian economy dropped by $4 bln in 2014 while the volume of accumulated investment totaled $38.7 bln. Russian investment in Luxembourg stood at $700 mln in 2014 while the volume of accumulated investment in the Grand Duchy reached $12 bln.