Russia will borrow $7 bn on foreign markets

Russia will borrow $7 billion on the foreign markets with US dollar-denominated Eurobonds next year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

The announcement came after Russia approved the 2013 federal budget setting the budget deficit at 0.8 percent of GDP.

“We can do this (Eurobond placement) in tranches, but recent experience shows that we should make the float as soon as we see a window of good opportunity for borrowing and offer the Eurobond for the entire sum at once,” he said, adding that there would be no increase in the total volume of external borrowings.

In 2010, Russia placed Eurobonds worth $5.5 billion for the first time after a 12-year gap. The Eurobond issue was heavily oversubscribed.

In 2011, Russia did not borrow on the external markets as the state's coffers were full from sales of oil, the country's key export. The 2012 federal budget projects $7 billion in external borrowings.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday signed the federal budget for 2013 and the planning period of 2014-2015.