The additional $500m pledge comes after KIA, Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, initially invested $500m in 2012.
“Russia continues to be an important and promising emerging market,” said Bader Mohammad Al-Saad, managing director and chief executive of KIA.
The agreement was signed by Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, and Bader Mohammad Al-Saad in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and H. H. the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as part of the Emir of Kuwait’s official visit to Russia, the fund said in a statement.
RDIF has different investment partnerships with several government entities in Asia, including the State Bank of India, the Korea Investment Corporation, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and China Investment Corporation, which is involved in a $2bn Russia-China Investment Fund, according to the fund.
RDIF was established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside international financial and strategic investors. Based in Moscow, RDIF’s management company is a full subsidiary of Vnesheconombank.
