Gov't to cease taking tied credits

The Russian government is planning to decrease the volume of tied credits on the external market and increase loans on the open market, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Ulyukayev declared. The government will stop taking tied credits in 2004, he added.

Currently, the share of external debts in the structure of Russia's debts is 82 percent; the share of domestic debts is 18 percent. The government is planning to increase the share of domestic debts to about 25 to 30 percent over the next 4 years. The government has the right to take $3bn in credits on external markets every year, Ulyukayev specified.