Gold Ten Data, August 15 News, in recent days, several major Wall Street banks have begun to facilitate the trading of Russian bonds. Most U.S. and European banks withdrew from the Russian market in June under U.S. sanctions on Russia. In July, the U.S. Treasury Department issued guidelines allowing holders of U.S. Treasuries to reduce their holdings, but then the banks cautiously returned to the market, repurchasing Russian government and corporate bonds.
A Jefferies spokesman said it was working in accordance with global sanctions guidelines to meet the needs of clients in this complex situation. Sources at Deutsche Bank said the bank traded bonds for clients on request and on a case-by-case basis to further reduce its exposure to Russian or non-U.S. clients, but would not launch any new business outside of those two categories.
Compared to Wall Street, Saudi Arabia seems much bolder. Amid the sanctions imposed by many Western countries on Russian energy companies and their executives, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holding company has invested more than 100% in Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil. $500 million.
Specifically, it invested 1.37 billion riyals in Gazprom on February 22, 196 million rials in Rosneft and 410 million rials in Lukoil between February 22 and March 22 Yar. Kingdom Holding said the investments were part of a three-year investment plan worth 12.8 billion riyals ($3.4 billion). Analysts say big Saudi companies are unlikely to make large investments in Russia without government support, given Western pressure on Russia.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal is said to have a majority stake in Kingdom Holding, but Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), bought the company in May this year. 16.87% of the shares.
Data shows that those who dare to bet on Russian companies in times of stress have achieved extraordinary results. Products owned by German hedge fund Aurelius have yielded 22.7% so far this year, benefiting from bets on Russian corporate debt and Ukrainian credit . The fund, which is worth $97 million, has bet on and profited from Russian companies such as Gazprom and Russia’s “Google” Yandex, people familiar with the matter said, and has large exposures to energy, movie theaters and health care. The fund is aimed at making relatively smaller, more focused investments and could see more inflows by year-end, according to people familiar with the matter.