JBIC offers Russia to use yen as additional currency when financing projects

VLADIVOSTOK, September 4. /TASS/. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has offered Russia to use Japanese yen as an additional currency when financing projects on its territory, JBIC Senior Managing Director Tadashi Maeda told the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on Friday. "We offer our Russian partners to study the possibility of using Japanese yen as an additional currency," he said expressing hope that the process will be sped up. Maeda told TASS earlier that negative effect from sanctions, especially those imposed by the United States, is a threat to developing cooperation. The bank cannot use US dollars when opening credit lines, he noted. Only yens can be used in such operations, and "there are technical problems with that," Maeda explained. Russia’s VEB deputy chairman Andrey Sapelin who gave a speech after Maeda said that the bank is already developing instruments with its partners that will allow to secure future investment from the influence of third parties. Japanese businesses operating in the United States have become "hostages" of US sanctions against Russia, Maeda told TASS. He acknowledged the existence of certain political disagreements, but at the same time remarked they had no effects on the business community. "The economy and politics are different things. The US sanctions are the worst obstruction," he added. "Many Japanese banks maintain extensive business operations in the United States. In the context of sanctions [against Russia] Washington can impose restrictions on any transactions by these banks," Maeda explained."For instance, the sanction list includes Rosneft. If you do business with Rosneft in the United States, this may be a reason for sanctions on Japanese businesses," he said. "One can say that Japanese companies in the United States are ‘hostages’ of US sanctions," Maeda said. The first Eastern Economic Forum opened in Vladivostok on Thursday. It will last till September 5. Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev told Rossiya 24 TV channel earlier today that a total of 65 agreements worth 1.2 trillion rubles were signed at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok over two days. "As of today, 65 agreements worth more than 1.2 trillion rubles [around $22.2 million] were signed… In this respect, the forum was a success. The second good factor is the number of guests. Guests from more than 30 countries took part in the forum," Trutnev said. Read more