31 May 2004 12:42
RUSSIA BOOSTS STABILIZATION FUND TO NEARLY 200 BLN RUBLES
MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told reporters on Saturday that he had ordered a
27.7-billion-ruble share of state revenue for last month to be included in Russia's stabilization fund and that
this would bring the fund to 199.047 billion rubles.
The stabilization fund has been formed since the start of 2004 via extra revenue from high world oil prices. Extra
income from production tax and export duty that forms if the price for Russian oil exceeds $20 per barrel is channeled
into the fund on a monthly basis.
The initial size of the fund, formed from extra revenue for 2003, stood at 106.3 billion rubles by February 1.
A preliminary forecast by the Finance Ministry puts the fund at 280 billion rubles by the year end. However, the
ministry will revise the forecast in hammering out guidelines for the 2005 draft budget by June 5.
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
