Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - The REC Group expands the capabilities of exporters and importers of Russian products, the press service of the Russian Export Center said

Roseximbank, a member of the REC group (Russian Export Center), opened the first correspondent account in Uzbek currency for Russian banks, while simultaneously opening several ruble accounts for banks in Uzbekistan, which is designed to expand the capabilities of exporters and importers of Russian products. This was announced on Thursday by the press service of the REC.

Roseximbank JSC opened the first correspondent account in Uzbek soums for Russian banks. At the same time, several LORO accounts in Russian rubles for banks of the Republic of Uzbekistan were opened. The REC group expands the capabilities of exporters and importers Russian products on operations in the national currencies of countries - the main trading partners of the Russian Federation, "the press service said.

REC Director General Veronika Nikishina notes the importance of this step in stimulating international payments in national currencies.

“The creation of infrastructure solutions to stimulate the use of national currencies in international settlements will reduce the financial risks for exporters by actually synchronizing the flows of revenue and liabilities of companies in one monetary unit. As a result, we can expect a decrease in the risk of non-fulfillment of contracts,” the press service quoted Nikishina as saying.

Roseximbank is already conducting operations of Russian companies in Chinese yuan, Kazakhstan tenge, Indian rupees, Kyrgyz soms, Hungarian forints, the press service of the REC said.

According to the press service, even before the introduction of restrictive measures related to the coronavirus pandemic, the management of the REC held several meetings with potential issuers of bonds in Russian rubles from Uzbekistan, discussed the insurance of bond issues at the Russian Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agency (EXIAR JSC) , part of the REC group). Such insurance, as expected at the REC, stimulates the transition of companies in Russia and Uzbekistan to settlements in national currencies.

“We discussed the parameters of the transactions, and, hopefully, these developments will allow us to conduct the first such transaction before the end of this year. Our demand for financing in rubles from Uzbekistan is growing,” Nikishina said, recalling that when financing the export of high-tech products from the Russian Federation in Russian rubles, a program of preferential financing of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation is in place.

The REC emphasizes that the network of correspondent accounts in national currencies of the trading partners of the Russian Federation is being consistently expanded, while the network of ruble LORO accounts on the balance of Roseximbank for non-resident banks and settlement accounts for non-resident companies is also growing. Such steps are aimed not only at increasing the volume of settlements in national currencies, but also at financing foreign trade activities of companies in national currencies, the report said.

“We, implementing this practice, are following our export flows. In some regions where there is a constant volume of export deliveries from Russia, we are already actively structuring financing transactions, in some we are at the stage of building infrastructure for the future. This is the opening of accounts, and the establishment of relationships with major players in the financial markets of these countries,” Nikishina added.

The REC General Director also noted that the Russian Export Center, realizing that the needs of foreign trade participants are not limited to calculations and financing, is actively involved in the further development of the financial market infrastructure in national currencies.

“An important element for encouraging exporters to choose national currencies in their calculations is the availability of financing. To this concept, I attribute not only the possibility of obtaining it, but, first of all, financing on favorable terms both in terms of time and at a rate. The next most important aspect, of course, is the development of currency trading instruments of the countries of the trading partners of the Russian Federation, including risk hedging instruments on currency and national trading exchanges,” Nikishina said.

In 2019, exports from Russia to Uzbekistan reached US$3.9 billion, 93% of which accounted for non-primary non-energy exports, the press service reports citing data from the REC. According to the same data, in 2019 the growth rate of non-primary non-energy exports compared to 2018 made up 25%.

The list of the main goods of Russian export to Uzbekistan in 2019 included products of the timber industry, metallurgy, engineering and agribusiness. The best dynamics were demonstrated by cars, unalloyed flat products, processing equipment