) - Russian National Wealth Fund (NWF) will abandon all U.S. dollar assets and increase the holdings of gold, euros, and Chinese yuan, said Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
"Like the central bank, we have decided to reduce investments of the NWF in dollar assets," Siluanov told reporters at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
The sale of U.S. dollar assets will take place within a month. Furthermore, after the announced changes are implemented, the fund will hold 40% of its assets in euros, 30% in yuan, and 20% in gold. Also, the NWF will hold 5% of the British point and Japanese yen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed the decision later on Thursday, stating that "the de-dollarization process is constant. It is, in fact, now visible to the naked eye."
This would mean selling $40 billion for gold, yuan, and euro, ING economists said.