Page 60 - RusRPTFeb19

rest of the world was due not only to the placement of foreign assets abroad (actual capital outflow), but also the repayment of foreign debts.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, net capital outflow from the private sector reached $36.5bn, exceeding the figure for the whole of 2017 ($25.2bn).
Importantly, net foreign debt redemptions stood at $10.4bn, so the majority of the capital outflow in the fourth quarter of 2018 ($26.1bn) was attributable to an increase in foreign assets.
It appears that once the CBR halted its FX acquisitions, residents took the opportunity to accumulate FX liquidity for FX debt redemptions in the future.
VTB Capital (VTBC) argues that now the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is back in the FZ market capital outflow should drop significantly in 2019 this year.
60 RUSSIA Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com