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Effect from OPEC+ deal was main cause of NWF doubling in 2019 — wealth fund

National Projects will be predominantly implemented using funds earned from the OPEC+ deal, according to the top manager

DAVOS, January 22. /TASS/. The economic effect from the OPEC+ oil production capping deal was the main cause of doubling the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in 2019 from 4.04 trillion rubles ($65.1 bln) to 7.7 trillion rubles ($124.2 bln), chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev told TASS on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

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The Russian budget received directly 7 trillion rubles ($112.9 bln) more, not including the NWF, but throughout the whole term of the deal, Dmitriev noted. "The budget has received directly more than 7 trillion rubles ($112.9 bln) from this deal, throughout the agreement existence period. Furthermore, the NWF has grown from 4.04 trillion rubles ($65.1 bln) to 7.7 trillion rubles ($124.2 bln), that is, the NWF actually doubled over the year. This largely indicates that the NWF resources through the fiscal rule have come exactly from the OPEC+ deal, increasing our reserves twofold," Dmitriev noted.

National Projects will be predominantly implemented using funds earned from the OPEC+ deal, the top manager said. "This is a revolutionary story, when the deal does not merely come to the budget but also gives a strong boost to reserves. Now, accordingly, one can say that investments of the NWF resources planned for different National Projects are mainly the investment of extra money Russia has earned on account of the OPEC+ deal," he added.

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