HONOLULU, November 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said that mutual investments across borders, notably in the infrastructure and agriculture sectors, are needed to restore growth to the global economy and prevent a double-dip global recession. The United States is hosting the summit this year in Hawaii and in 2012 the chairmanship of APEC will pass to Russia.

Mr. Dmitriev said:

"Only through growth can we overcome the challenges facing the global economy. In the globalized world, there needs to be a greater effort to increase the volume of mutual international investments. The RDIF and China Investment Corporation (CIC) recently announced the creation of a joint fund that will invest in growth companies, including those in the infrastructure sector - one prominent example of cooperation between APEC nations. We expect that similar partnerships will increase in the near future."

During the APEC summit, RDIF will meet with a number of leading financial and strategic investors from APEC countries to discuss cross-border co-investment opportunities and the attractiveness of Russia as an investment destination. On November 12 Kirill Dmitriev will also participate in a panel discussion at the APEC summit on "Investment Frontiers: Where Is the Smart Money Going?" that focuses on investment opportunities in the region.

About the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)

The Russian Direct Investment Fund was established in June 2011. The RDIF is expected to be capitalized with USD 10 billion in Russian government funds over the next five years and is charged with making equity investments that generate strong returns, primarily in Russia. In each investment it makes, the RDIF is required to secure co-investment that at minimum matches its commitment, thus acting as a catalyst for direct investment into the Russian economy. Additional information is available at http://www.rdif.ru.

APEC

The APEC summit in Honolulu is a meeting of heads of state and business leaders from the economic and trade forum's 21 member states  President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, President of the United States Barack Obama, President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao as well as leaders of Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines are taking part in the event.

The political leaders will be joined by senior businesspeople including Eric Schmidt of Google, Dennis Nally of PwC, Douglas Oberhelman of Caterpillar, William Weldon of Johnson&Johnson, Cher Wang of HTC and Bob Stevens of Lockheed Martin. From Russia, Alexey Miller of Gazprom, Vladimir Dmitriev of Vnesheconombank, Andrei Kostin of VTB and Oleg Deripaska of Basic Element will attend the summit.

SOURCE Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)