Feeling the benefit, investors are betting on Russian bonds ahead of Trump-Putin talks - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Ahead of the Trump-Putin talks, investors are again buying Russian assets, hoping for a softening of sanctions. Hedge funds are exploring how to trade Russian assets and weighing their value.
Ahead of a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which may provide more specifics on the prospects for ending Russia's hostilities against Ukraine, investors are "ferreting out" a chance and are again buying up Russian assets, hoping for a softening of sanctions.
UNN reports with reference to Financial Times.
Russia's war in Ukraine remains an important geopolitical issue. Ahead of the talks between US President Trump and Russian President Putin, which may clarify the contours of a further ceasefire, investors are increasingly betting on Russian bonds and the ruble, hoping for a "wave of capital" that will later "scoop up" the Russian economy.
Currently, hedge funds and brokers are exploring how to trade Russian assets and are weighing how likely is a further increase in the value of Russian bonds.
Although it is still difficult for Western funds to make direct bets on Russian assets, some of them are hunting for bonds of Russian companies that were considered almost worthless after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine in 2022. Now these Russian assets are growing in the internal valuations of some investors.
There is definitely some excitement, mostly in the hedge fund environment
In a comment to the Financial Times, a Ninety One analyst notes that, as it is, the ruble is still little traded outside of Russia. Russian bonds are mostly closed to foreign institutional investors due to sanctions, as well as their own internal rules.
This year, the ruble has risen by almost a third against the dollar in the hope of ending the three-year full-scale conflict. In addition, investors are weighing Trump's rhetoric regarding Russia.
"This rhetoric is not stable," says Paul McNamara, investment director at GAM, and notes - "this is what you should consider".
But...it's also about lifting sanctions
Let us remind you
On Tuesday, Trump and Putin intend to hold a telephone conversation regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Kremlin confirmed the preparation of a conversation between Putin and Trump on March 18. The agenda includes "Ukrainian settlement".
