MOSCOW, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF) have started implementing projects in the framework of coupling the EAEU and the Chinese Belt and Road initiative aimed at accelerating mutual economic integration between Russia and China.

New projects of RDIF and its international partners announced during the Belt and Road forum in Beijing will strengthen cooperation between Russia and China in a number of sectors, such as infrastructure construction, genetic research, artificial intelligence and others.

• The strategic partnership with China's BGI Group is a new RDIF project with one of the world's leading genetics companies.
  
  The agreement will enable RDIF to attract new investment in Russia's high-tech sector and help develop breakthrough solutions in healthcare.

• Another example of joint projects in the healthcare sector is the involvement of Chinese co-investors in the project to create a leading Russian pharmaceutical holding based on JSC PE Obolenskoe.
  
  The expansion of the pharmaceutical holding will be carried out by merging Obolenskoe with the pharmaceutical company Binnopharm.

• Cooperation with the Chinese innovation-focused company Tus-Holdings, supported by Tsinghua University, to jointly build a science and technology park on the premises of Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and a science and technology park at the former Tushino airfield in the north-west of Moscow.
  
  RCIF and Tus-Holdings have also launched the Russia-China venture fund with initial capital of $100mn.

• RDIF and RCIF attract new Chinese partners to Intergeo company focusing on the development of the Kingash (located in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia) and Ag-Sug (located in Russia's Tyva Republic) polymetallic deposits, both of which have significant reserves of copper, nickel and a number of other non-ferrous metals. The total value of investment to development these deposits and associated infrastructure will exceed RUB 178bn. Together with new initiatives, RDIF and RCIF are committed to implement ongoing projects under Belt and Road initiative.

• The construction of the first ever railway bridge across the Amur river on the Russia-China border has entered its final stage. Now that the Russian and Chinese parts of the bridge have been connected, experts are preparing to install the railway track and complete the transport infrastructure. The bridge will significantly increase the turnover of goods and the competitiveness of Russian producers and exporters in the region, reducing the distance of transportation to the final consumer by about 700 km compared to other existing export railway routes. The bridge is set to open in 2020.

• Establishment and development of Tigers Realm Coal, a coal mining company in Chukotka.
  
  The company is exporting coal to Asian markets, including China.

• Expansion of the network of regional airports and creation of the largest transport hub in the Far East, based at Vladivostok airport.
  
  In 2018, international air passenger traffic grew by more than 45%.

• Development of RFP Group, the largest exporter of timber products in Russia's Far East. The majority of the company's products are exported to China.

• Development of the Dakaitaowa online platform aimed at exporting Russian food products to China.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF and Co-CEO of RCIF, said that current activation of infrastructure and economic ties between Russia and China is a result of the evolution of bilateral relations that has allowed for an unprecedented high level of cooperation, which Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have repeatedly stressed. "RDIF actively promotes the Belt and Road initiative aimed at developing mechanisms for regional economic partnerships and fostering economic growth amongst participating countries. It is important that investments by RDIF and partners are not limited to infrastructure projects, i.e. construction of bridges. 'Bridges' between Russia and China are being built across various sectors including genetics, modern technology parks, pharmaceuticals and beyond. Investment cooperation with our Chinese partners is truly comprehensive and reflects the current unprecedentedly high level of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing."

SOURCE Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)