Page 92 - RusRPTOct22

Central Bank should be expanded and all non-cash rubles in the economy should be tokenized. In addition, it is worth allowing internal settlements in the CFA, and also legalizing mining, creating legal crypto exchanges and exchangers, using cryptocurrencies for settlements with partners abroad and allowing qualified investors to invest in them, the bank believes.
Following the meeting, Mishustin instructed the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance to agree on a position on digital currencies, mining and the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign settlements by December 19. True, this does not mean that by December the concept of a new regulation of the cryptocurrency market will actually appear in Russia. Mishustin had already instructed the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance to decide on this issue by February 18, but then the departments failed to agree on positions, then the war began - and the issue faded into the background.
Moscow and Ankara have agreed that Turkey will pay for 25% of the natural gas it purchases from Russia in rubles, Russian energy giant Gazprom said in a statement quoted by news agencies on September 6. The remainder of the gas would be paid for in euros and dollars, BloombergHT said in its report on the deal. The share of the gas bill paid in rubles would be expanded over time, it added, citing unidentified sources.
The Russian ruble will be accepted at banks and points of sale throughout Egypt as a means of settling electronic transactions for cardholders using Mir, a Russian card payment and money transfer system, as of the end of September, according to a Central Bank of Egypt directive. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian tourists accounted for roughly half of arrivals in Egypt. Their ability to make purchases abroad was severely curtailed following the imposition of Western sanctions that hindered international payment processors, such as Visa and Mastercard, from executing transactions via SWIFT, the international payment system.
Moscow Exchange is to start testing new trading boards with settlement in CNY on credit, CCP deposits, REPO with CCP and interdealer REPO markets from 12 September, according to the bourse’s website. Besides, Moscow Exchange plans to resume an evening trading session on the stock market and morning trading on the futures and currency markets (from 12 September). Thus, FX trading session will be extended to 12 hours, on the stock and bond markets – to 14 hours, on the futures market – to 15 hours.
VTB said on September 7 it had become the first Russian bank to launch money transfers to China in yuan without using the international messaging system SWIFT that underpins financial transactions globally. Demand for the yuan in Russia has increased since Feb. 24 when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine and the West imposed sanctions against Moscow, limiting its access to the dollar and euro markets.
92 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com