Russia's Sberbank see 50% increase in new accounts opened for Chinese businesses

Alexander Vedyakhin, the First Deputy CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, has announced that the number of Chinese small and medium-sized businesses opening bank accounts has risen by 50% in the past year.

The Russian bank Sberbank has an office in China and has opened a center in Vladivostok, a port city in Russia’s far eastern region. This is all to help Russian and Chinese businesses do more business with each other.

In addition, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Alexander Vedyakhin said that a Chinese-language course on how to start a business in Russia that Sberbank made has also helped to bring in Chinese companies.

Besides Syberbank, Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, said its Shanghai branch had grown into a fully-fledged bank, expanding its customer base.

On the other hand, the US is losing investors because of Trump’s tariffs. Several of them have gone as far as moving their assets from US companies. 

The UN gives a different outlook from Syberbank

Trade between Russia and China has soared since Western countries shunned Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. Based on Chinese customs data, its record saw a rise to 1.74 trillion yuan ($239 billion) last year.

However, the UN data published on Thursday shows that foreign direct investment into Russia has fallen sharply to $3.3 billion in 2024, the lowest amount since 2001.

The numbers were released at Russia’s most important economic event, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. They show that investment dropped by 62.8% between 2023 and 2024 and by 50% from 2021, the year before the war, when Russia drew $38.8 billion.

In addition, the Central Bank says that foreign investment in Russia’s non-financial areas has dropped by 57% in the last three years. FDI dropped from $497.7 billion at the beginning of 2022 to $216 billion in January 2025, the lowest amount since 2009.

Sergei Aleksashenko, a former deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, said that even if the war ended tomorrow, few serious companies would still want to invest in Russia because of the political risks.

The UNCTAD report also talks about the sharp drop in 2022, when foreign companies took out a net of $15.2 billion. This was because they had to quickly send their money back to their countries after Russia invaded Ukraine, and harsh international sanctions were put in place.

The Russian economy is slowing down- Syberbank

Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, said that the Russian economy could slow down excessively due to high interest rates and may face difficulties returning to a growth path.

“There is a danger of the economy overcooling and that we may not be able to come out of this slump, and further growth could be very restrained,” Vedyakhin said.

Vedyakhin projected a growth rate of 1% and 2% in 2025, below the government’s more optimistic projection of 2.5%. “The wisdom and sensitivity of the regulator and all economic and financial authorities are required to stop inflation and prevent such a sharp decline in production,” Vedyakhin added.

Netizens were not as excited to learn of the trade relationship between Russia and China. One said that a growing relationship between the two countries would not benefit world peace.

However, it is too late to say that. President Vladimir Putin said Russia and China plan to hold military exercises this year. This is part of their plan to work together on several strategic problems.

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