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Foreign direct investment in Russia surge 62% in 2016

Foreign direct investment into the Russian economy increased to $19 bln last year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

GENEVA, February 1. /TASS/. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Russian economy surged 62% in 2016 to $19 bln against the 13% decline globally to $1.52 trillion, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Wednesday in its Global Investment Trends Monitor.

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"FDI flows to transition economies rose by 38% to an estimated US$ 52 billion. This largely reflected a doubling of inflows in Kazakhstan (from US$ 4 billion to US$ 8.1 billion) as well as a 62% uptick in flows to the Russian Federation (from US$ 12 billion to an estimated US$ 19 billion)," the paper says.

The increase in FDI in Russia "is principally attributed to investments associated with the privatization of state-owned assets: the government sold a 19.5% stake in the state-owned oil company Rosneft in a deal worth around US$ 11 billion to a consortium led by Glencore (Switzerland) and the Qatari sovereign wealth fund," the UNCTAD reported.

At the same time, "a protracted period of developed-country investor uncertainty could serve to undermine the upswing in investment flows," the Conference said referring to emerging and developing economies.

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