Russia launches accounts with withdrawal guarantees for foreign investors

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has launched a new type of investment account that contains withdrawal guarantees, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as Moscow looks to attract foreign investors to the Russian stock market.

Since sweeping international sanctions were imposed against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, Russia has frozen billions of roubles of Western investors' cash in special "type-C" accounts inside Russia and seized dozens of businesses with links to foreign ownership.

The need to revive foreign investment was a talking point at an economic forum in St Petersburg last month, although the absence of big Western investors and failure to secure significant deals with other partners highlighted Moscow's problem.

Foreigners will be able to make new investments in roubles, foreign currency, stocks and bonds in new "In" accounts, the decree said.

The finance ministry said it was working on softening capital controls for new investment when discussing the changes late last year.

Alexei Yakovlev, head of the ministry's financial policy department, said in December that investors from all countries should be entitled to take advantage of the new rules, not just those from countries Russia considers "friendly".

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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