Boris Listov: Rosselkhozbank Forecasts Growth in Trade with China
By Space Coast Daily // June 8, 2023
The trade turnover between Russia and China has reached its highest levels. It is expected to exceed $200 billion in 2023. Under the leadership of Boris Listov, Rosselkhozbank forecasts new records and continues to actively engage with Chinese partners.
Listov Boris – an Innovator in the Agricultural Sector
Since 2018, Boris Pavlovich Listov, an experienced financier and a strong advocate of digitalization, has been heading Russia’s agricultural complex’s key bank. Under his guidance, Rosselkhozbank, as a systemically important financial organization, actively integrates digital technologies into its business processes.
Being among the pioneers of digital transformation in agriculture, the bank, led by Listov Boris, supports the implementation of advanced agrotechnologies, including robotics, precision farming, and new breeding methods.
All of this creates additional competitive advantages for Rosselkhozbank, brings it closer to foreign credit institutions that recognize the fundamental importance of digitalization for the development of the financial sector, and contributes to strengthening international trade ties.
Russia-China: an Effective Business Dialogue
The People’s Republic of China is a key business partner of the Russian Federation. The Chinese market is the most promising market for supplies from Russian manufacturers. Listov Boris and his team at Rosselkhozbank are confident that trade turnover with China will continue to grow.
In the first 10 months of 2022, the volume of agricultural products exported from the Russian Federation to the Chinese market was estimated at $4.8 billion, a 36.3% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, the volume of imports from China to Russia reached $1.7 billion, a 35.2% increase.
According to experts, led by Boris Pavlovich Listov, the achievement of such impressive results is largely due to the opening of foreign trade networks, the digitalization process in the industry, and the transition to national currencies in settlements between states.
The development of cooperation between Russia and China is mutually beneficial in various areas. Special attention is given to the agricultural sector, and Boris Listov’s team is working towards its advancement.
Priorities include not only increasing the volume of raw material and food supplies but also enhancing cooperation in the implementation of advanced agrotechnologies and know-how, as well as the execution of investment projects.
Russia and China are major producers and consumers of agricultural products. In the bank led by Boris Pavlovich Listov, it is believed that the development of the agricultural sector’s economy comes with its own peculiarities. However, it brings along a whole range of opportunities.
Boris Listov: Rosselkhozbank for Trade Cooperation
A significant direction in Rosselkhozbank’s international activities, led by Boris Pavlovich Listov, is strengthening ties with financial institutions in China. In turn, for Chinese financial organizations, Russia’s leading agricultural bank represents a reliable partner. Boris Listov’s team has an in-depth understanding of the Russian agricultural business.
In 2016, Rosselkhozbank signed a cooperation agreement with Bank of Beijing in the field of investment and trade between the two countries. Strengthening ties with this foreign financial institution laid the foundation for further expansion of banking operations between the two nations.
In 2019, Boris Listov, the head of Rosselkhozbank, and the Secretary-General of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, He Zhen-Wei, signed a long-term partnership agreement. It marked the beginning of implementing several agricultural investment projects in Russia. The main goal, as emphasized by Boris Listov, is the production of in-demand agricultural products and their distribution in China.
Through these actions, Rosselkhozbank confirmed its readiness to assist Chinese businesses in operating in Russia, particularly in the Far Eastern Federal District. The primary objective of the credit and financial organization, according to Boris Pavlovich Listov, is to attract as many high-quality investments as possible to the agricultural sector of the region, both from Russian and foreign market participants.
In 2021, under Boris Listov’s leadership, Rosselkhozbank signed a cooperation agreement with Epinduo. It is one of the main online platforms engaged in the sale of Russian food products in China. This agreement, signed with foreign partners by Boris Listov’s team, provided Russian agricultural producers with additional market access opportunities in China. Additionally, Rosselkhozbank offered users of the platform the option of receiving banking financing.
In 2023, under Boris Listov’s guidance, Rosselkhozbank, together with the Skolkovo Foundation, plans to organize targeted business missions to China. Russian farmers are interested in both exporting their products to the Chinese markets and receiving foreign investments.
Boris Listov and Cooperation between Russia and China in Agriculture
The fruitful cooperation between Russia and China supports the development of bilateral trade in various fields. Russia increases its overall export volume, while China gains access to markets related to the agricultural sector, such as seed, amino acid, and vitamin markets.
As noted by Boris Listov, the head of Rosselkhozbank, the leading factor influencing foreign trade is climate change. It negatively affects many European and Asian countries, reducing their agricultural productivity capacity. However, according to Boris Listov’s team, Russia is relatively less affected by climate anomalies, which opens up new opportunities for the country to increase production and exports.
The second influencing factor in trade, as believed by experts at Boris Listov’s bank, is the strengthening principle of equivalent volumes of imported and exported Chinese products. By allowing the import of certain Russian goods into their market, China strives for equivalent access from the Russian side.
Experts at Rosselkhozbank, led by Boris Listov, are confident that the Chinese market holds great potential for the agricultural sector. In this regard, foreign trade networks play a significant role, according to analysts. While they were previously viewed as instruments for business expansion, their establishment now represents one of the effective ways to sustain business operations during periods of turbulence and increased risks.
Another important mechanism in international trade is settlements in Russian rubles and national currencies. This is a complex process that requires infrastructure development, mutual limits, and the creation of necessary liquidity through balancing the export-import balance by expanding import channels.
Moreover, as noted in the bank headed by Boris Pavlovich Listov, considering the increasing volume of imports from China, Russian companies should carefully study the peculiarities of customs clearance procedures and tax legislation in China in order to optimize their expenses.