The largest private bank from Russia is expanding in China

Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank PJSC, plans to expand its operations in China. Alfa Bank, owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, is applying to build branches in China. The bank’s focus is on business in Beijing and Shanghai Bloomberg Published statement.

The bank, which has been sanctioned by the US Treasury since 2022, already served “thousands” of Chinese companies and had a website targeting Chinese clients, the statement said. According to a Bloomberg report, the bank received an AA rating from the Chinese rating agency earlier this year. This was their first ever credit rating in this country.

Moving to China due to sanctions

The shift towards China is a sign of Russia’s increasingly intertwined relations with the world’s second-largest economy, to which it is increasingly turning as an economic partner in the wake of Western trade restrictions.

The two countries have begun an “unlimited” partnership. This led to its trading volume rising to a record high of $240 billion last year. Both countries are working with other countries to strategically eliminate the use of the dollar.

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The economic partnership with China constitutes a lifeline for Russia, which has been hit by a barrage of American and European sanctions since it began its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow is becoming increasingly isolated from global markets, and Beijing is one of the country’s last remaining trading partners.

However, China has taken some steps to distance itself from Russia. Because: There is also a risk of being sanctioned by the West. Chinese state-owned banks announced they would restrict lending to Russian customers at the end of 2023. This came as the United States announced it would impose restrictions on lenders who support Russia’s trade in sanctioned goods.

Read the original article in English Interested in trade.