| Updated:
Russia to raise $18bn by bond
RUSSIA is to launch its first international bond in a decade in a bid to boost its public finances.
Russia, which last issued a bond aimed at international investors in 2000, has signalled plans to raise up to $18bn (£11bn) in dollar-denominated securities in the first quarter of next year as the cost of borrowing for emerging market sovereign issuers has fallen sharply sharply.
Demand for riskier assets, such as emerging market securities, has risen since equities started rallying.
Russian officials will come to London soon to gauge demand.