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Russia-Japan investment fund announces first deals in Russia

Russia-Japan Investment Fund was established to pursue and implement attractive investment projects to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Japan and Russia

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. The Russia-Japan Investment Fund (RJIF, launched by the Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, or JBIC) has announced its first investment deals. Investments are made in energy infrastructure and industrial production, with the total amount of co-investment exceeding 10 bln rubles ($169 mln), the fund said in a press release.

Particularly, the RJIF has invested in the Russian pipeline operator Transneft, which transports up to 85% of oil produced in Russia, and up to 26% of petroleum products, the report said. Previously, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, its leading Middle Eastern partners, and the Russia-China Investment Fund (established by RDIF and the China Investment Corporation) became the company's shareholders, the fund said.

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The Russia-Japan Investment Fund also participated in the IPO of the EN+ Group in November 2017, together with RDIF and leading funds of the Middle East, the report said.

Currently, the RJIF is in the process of closing a deal to invest in a leading Russian high-tech pharmaceutical company, producer and distributor of pharmaceuticals. "Investments are carried out jointly with a leading Japanese corporation. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017," the Russian Direct Investment Fund said.

"We are pleased to start investment activities of the recently established Russia-Japan Investment Fund with JBIC IG Partners. I am confident that the fund's work will not only strengthen investment, trade and economic cooperation between our countries, but will also facilitate the transfer of technology and the entry of Russian companies into the promising Japanese market," CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev was quoted as saying.

Dmitriev said earlier on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) that the Russia-Japan Investment Fund would invest tens of millions of dollars in the Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm.

Russia-Japan Investment Fund was established to pursue and implement attractive investment projects to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Japan and Russia. Priority sectors identified for cooperation include healthcare, development of smart cities and sustainable technologies, energy, cutting-edge technologies and developing industries and export in the Russian Far Eastern District, as well as other initiatives that will strengthen the trade and economic relations between the two countries.

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