Page 90 - RusRPTOct22

7.1 FX issues
Renminbification of Russian FX market. The share of Renminbi in the local FX market has moved from less than 1% before the war to 26%. Renminbi is not the best investment; it is a good proxy for the USD, for now; it also helps avoid further asset seizures and US/EUR sanctions.
The Russian government plans to double the share of foreign trade transactions settled in rubles by 2025, bringing this from 19.5% in 2021 to 40%, according to Vedomosti daily citing the memo from the notorious strategic economic meeting of August 30.
Notably, the government reportedly expects the use of the national currencies of “friendly” countries to soar from 1.6% to 20%. Over 60% of foreign trade is anticipated to be conducted in currencies other than US dollars and euros by 2025.
bne IntelliNews is closely following the “yuanisation” of the Russian economy after its military invasion of Ukraine, as seen in rising volumes of yuan trading on the Moscow Exchange, and banks rushing to offer products and services in yuan.
On the state level too, Russian authorities are reportedly preparing to invest $70bn into buying yuan and other "friendly" currencies.
According to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) data cited by Vedomosti, in 2021 most of the exports from Russia were settled in dollars (54.5%) and euros (29.7%), while the ruble accounted for 14.3% and other currencies for only 1.5%.
Imports were paid in dollars (35.8%) and euros (30.4%), with the ruble accounting for 27.9% and other currencies for 5.9%.
In early September, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, and after
90 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com