The appointment follows VTB’s recent decision to launch an investment platform to tap growth opportunities in the agricultural markets. It expects it can attract between $500 million to $1 billion in investments into the sector over a phased period of investment.
Agricultural Investment News
“Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region have all the ingredients needed to become the world’s agriculture powerhouse,” Mr. Rogers said in a statement.
“It seems that everything may now be coming together under VTB Capital to make this happen, so I am keen to participate.”
VTB’s decision to appoint Mr. Rogers comes as the bank and other Russian institutions seek to better establish themselves in Singapore. VTB, Russia’s second largest bank, has been building out an office in the city-state over the past three years to help its Russian clients better engage with Asian markets and has been one of a handful of foreign issuers to tap the country’s traditionally small local currency corporate bond market. It also has established a presence in Hong Kong this year, where it hopes to capitalize on increasing capital flows between Asia and Russia.
Mr. Rogers is also scheduled to speak on a panel at the seventh annual Russia-Singapore Business Forum next week.
The 69-year-old made his fame and fortune on the back of the stellar returns of his Quantum Fund, which he co-founded along with U.S. billionaire George Soros in the 1970s. He also made headlines following his decision to relocate his family to Singapore in 2007 from his native U.S, a move that a number of other western tycoons followed in subsequent years.
Source: blogs.wsj.com
