Russia continues Asian pivot

With Russian energy interests pivoting east, the head of Russian bank VTB said Monday he was looking to get listed on the Chinese stock exchange.

Andrei Kostin said, on his way to an Asian investment forum, that his bank was requesting a rating from China's Dagong Global Credit Rating Co.

"We are heading in that direction," he said. "It is the right decision given the current situation."

Rating is one of the preliminary steps toward entering the Chinese stock exchange as a listed company.

The Chinese rating agency in early March gave Russian energy company Gazprom Neft a AA credit rating, denoting a stable outlook for its debt portfolio and long-term production potential.

Parent company Gazprom received one of its best outlooks in the industry, a AAA, despite sanctions imposed on Russia's energy sector in response to crises in Ukraine.

China's credit enthusiasm contrasts ratings from Western agencies. Ratings agency Moody's in February lowered its assessment of seven Russian financial institutions, including the banking arm of Gazprom, because of recessionary threats.

Sanctions on banking and energy companies, in conjunction with the low price of oil, have struck a major blow to the Russian economy. The U.S. Treasury Department placed VTB on its list of Russian entities sanctioned because of the Kremlin's stance on lingering crises in Ukraine.

Russia's pivot toward the Asia-Pacific offers a buffer against a European Union frustrated with the former Soviet Union's influence in the regional energy sector. The European market gets about a quarter of its gas from Russia, though most of that runs through Ukrainian pipelines.