Russian Direct Investment Fund : RDIF and JBIC Agree to Collaborate in the Russian Bioenergy Industry

(Russian Direct Investment Fund/4-Traders) The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and JBICIG Partners (JBICIG, a subsidiary of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)) as part of the Russia-Japan Investment Fund (RJIF, launched by RDIF and JBIC), together with RFP Group and Japan's Prospect Co., Ltd. have agreed to collaborate and consider potential investments in Russia's biofuel industry. A corresponding agreement was announced on the sidelines of the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe's visit to Russia.

As part of the agreement, the parties plan to cooperate on a project to process timber industry waste into wood pellets for energy production. The project involves the construction of a pellet production plant, with a total capacity up to 135,000 tons per year. Construction of the first facility is expected to start in the summer of 2018, with pellet production to start in 2019. Parties plan to explore further increase of capacity and construction of additional plants with a capacity circa 500,000 tons per year. A significant volume of the product will be exported to Japan.

'Russia has great potential for development in the bioenergy industry. We have the largest timber resource in the world. Every year, a large amount of woodis felled. The waste formed during the processing of this wood can later be converted into solid biofuel. Fuel pellets made of wood will contribute to the development of alternative energy sources and enable the Russian Far East to realize its export potential.'

'Prospect is very excited to partner and invest with RFP Group, RJIF and all stakeholders to grow Russia's biofuel industry into a major supplier to meet Japan's energy needs. These exports will go far to further strengthen relations between Russia and Japan.'

Russia-Japan Investment Fund was established to pursue and implement attractive investment projects to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Japan and Russia. Priority sectors identified for cooperation include healthcare, development of smart cities and sustainable technologies, energy, cutting-edge technologies and developing industries and export in the Russian Far Eastern District, as well as other initiatives that will strengthen the trade and economic relations between the two countries. www.rjif.org

Prospect Co., Ltd (TSE: 3528) is a Tokyo Stock Exchange listed investment and development firm with over 200 employees and over 20 years of development experience in Japan, totaling over 2 billion USD. The company operates in five main business segments, (1) the development and sale of condominiums the Tokyo metropolitan area; (2) the sale of built to order residential properties; (3) asset management through its SEC registered U.S. Investment Advisory subsidiary, investing in Japanese equity, (4) a general civil engineering and construction, specialized in prestressed concrete (PC) works, micro-tunneling and (5) renewable energy power generation and electricity sale. The Company currently has 150 million USD in renewable energy projects under development. www.prospectjapan.co.jp

Russia Forest Products (RFP Group)is the largest forestry company of the Russian Far East with 5 million m3 of annual allowable cut rights and annual felling volumes over 2 million m3. RFP operates one of the largest wood-processing clusters with input capacity over 1.5 million m3 of roundwood, which includes plants for production of veneer, sawnwood and wood pellets. RFP is set up to become a leading producer of biofuel at the Russian Far East. http://www.rfpgroup.ru/