Financial expert: Sanctions on Russian bonds are impossible
(Baonghean.vn) - The proposed US sanctions on Russian government bonds (OFZ) will not only hurt Moscow, but also many investors holding these bonds in the West.
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| Illustration photo. Photo: Reuters |
Mr. Peter Pushkarev, Director of Analysis of TeleTrade Group - one of the global financial consulting groups, expressed the above opinion.
The measure was proposed by a group of US senators led by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
The congressman said he planned to introduce "a sanctions bill from hell" to punish Russia, because "the current sanctions policy cannot restrain Moscow from interfering in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections."
However, analysts say the US Congress is unlikely to pass the bill, which includes restrictions on trading in Russian public debt. According to Pushkarev, sanctions against Russian debt are unlikely and are just part of the election campaign ahead of the US midterm elections in November.
In any case, Russia has no urgent need to issue $7.5 billion worth of bonds this year as planned.
"The Central Bank of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves have increased by $75 billion in a year, which is 10 times more than the country could borrow with Russian government bonds. Moreover, oil prices remain high, which means Russia may wait more than a year before issuing more government bonds," Pushkarev stressed.
