俄罗斯主权财富基金宣布清仓美元资产

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财联社（上海，编辑 史正丞）讯，俄罗斯财政部长西卢安诺夫（Anton Siluanov）周四宣布，该国主权财富基金（National Wellbeing Fund）将抛售所有的美元资产，意在西方国家加码制裁的背景下降低主权投资的脆弱性。

值得一提的是，距离普京与拜登6月16日的会晤前不到两周的时间作出这一里程碑式的决定，显示俄罗斯在美国连续数年制裁后降低对美元依赖性的决心。

据悉，NWF基金的流动性资产大约价值1190亿美元，其中有三分之一（约415亿美元）为美元资产，此外还有相同金额的欧元，剩余部分为人民币、黄金、日元和英镑。西卢安诺夫表示，该基金会将美元持仓换成欧元、人民币和黄金。完成调整后欧元将占整体持仓的40%、人民币和黄金分别占30%和20%，剩下日元和英镑各占5%。

虽然涉及数百亿美元的交易，但分析人士认为不会对公开市场造成影响。Renaissance Capital经济学家Sofya Donets解读称，俄罗斯央行可以在不诉诸市场操作的情况下完成主权财富基金的持仓转变。据知情人士透露，即便在主权财富基金作出变化后，俄罗斯央行也没有重启黄金购买的计划。

西卢安诺夫也表示，俄罗斯能够在一个月内完成持仓的变化，但具体还需要央行来决定何时调整外汇储备的整体仓位。

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以下是零对冲的报道版本

Russia's $186 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund Dumps All Dollar Assets

BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, JUN 03, 2021 - 11:45 AM

Following a series of corporate cyberattacks that American intelligence agencies have blamed on Russian actors, Russia's sovereign wealth fund (officially the National Wellbeing Fund) has decided to dump all of its dollars and dollar-denominated assets in favor of those denominated in euros, yuan - or simply buying precious metals like gold, which Russia's central bank has increasingly favored for its own reserves.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made the announcement Thursday morning at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"We can make this change rather quickly, within a month," Siluanov told reporters Thursday.

He explained that the Kremlin is moving to reduce exposure to US assets as President Biden threatens more economic sanctions against Russia following the latest ransomware attacks. The transfer will affect $119 billion in liquid assets, Bloomberg reported, but the sales will largely be executed through the Russian Central bank and its massive reserves, limiting the market impact and reducing visibility on what exactly the sovereign wealth fund will be buying.

“The central bank can make these changes to the Wellbeing Fund without resorting to market operations,” said Sofya Donets, economist at Renaissance Capital in Moscow. “This in some sense a technical thing."

Jordan Rochester, currency strategist at Nomura International PLC, said, “This is a transfer of euros from the central bank to the wealth fund, we’ll then see the central bank the holder of the USDs and it’s up to them to manage it. No initial market impact."

The news isn't a complete surprise: The Bank of Russia, Russia's central bank, has steadily reduced its dollar holdings over the last few years amid increasing sanctions pressure from the US and Europe. That trend continued through President Trump's term.

Just a few days ago, we reported that the Russian parliament had just authorized the sovereign wealth fund to buy gold through the central bank. However, the central bank reports its holdings with a six-month lag, making it impossible to determine its current holdings.

Russia’s gold holdings eclipsed its dollar reserves last year despite a halt in gold purchases. This was partly due to an increase in the value of its gold holdings with the rise in gold prices, and partly a function of the central bank’s continued efforts to shed dollar assets.

The wealth fund currently holds 35% of its liquid assets in dollars, worth about $41.5 billion, with the same amount in euros and the rest spread across yuan, gold, yen and pounds. After this latest change, the fund’s assets will be held 40% in euros, 30% in yuan, 20% in gold and 5% each in yen and pounds, Siluanov said.

The wealth fund holds savings from Russia’s oil revenues above a cutoff price and is used to help offset shortfalls when the market falls below that level. Together with illiquid assets, its total value is $185.9 billion.

A few years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Washington was inadvertently accelerating de-dollarization with its aggressive financial sanctions, which were forcing its geopolitical adversaries to reduce their dependence on the greenback. Just last month, Russia reached a new milestone whereby fewer than 50% of its exports were paid for in dollars.

It appears that after years of steadily reducing its dependence on the dollar, Russia is about to intensify those efforts in a way that Washington will be forced to take notice.