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Sun
said the 1.7 billion roubles ($18.9 million) IPO in Moscow had
been planned initially in August with sale of around 20% of the
company's shares.
"Now, it's October or November. That's after the key interest
rate hike and as the general environment on the stock exchange
became more difficult. So, for our future investors we decided
to postpone it," Sun Tianshu told Reuters on the sidelines of
Russia's Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
According to Qifa, its revenue jumped 75% in 2023 to 5.7 billion
roubles. Sales of consumer goods, such as shoes and clothes,
account for the bulk of revenue.
Russia's central bank hiked its key interest rate by 200 basis
points to 18% in July, the highest level in more than two years,
and vowed to continue tightening until inflation rates in an
overheated economy come down.
The central bank holds next rates-setting meeting on Sept. 13.
Moscow and Beijing have resorted to complex steps to try to
avoid payment delays, including a workaround using small,
regional Chinese banks, as the threat of secondary U.S.
sanctions on Chinese banks that facilitate trade with Russia
deters larger lenders.
Until last year, Qifa's primary focus was the import of Chinese
consumer goods to Russia, but it launched bilateral trade this
year, charging commission from buyers in China in yuan.
Speaking at the annual forum in Russia's far eastern port of
Vladivostok, Sun Tianshu said there were still many barriers in
Russo-Chinese bilateral trade.
"Now it's like a push-button phone, whereas it should be like a
smartphone," he said, adding that it still has a potential to
boom to the annual turnover of around $400 billion from a
record-high $240 billion in 2023.
Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising
costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving
transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo.
"The difficulties with payments emerged in March. And the
payment-related challenges created big difficulties," Sun
Tianshu said.
"But now we see that the situation is improving," he added.
($1 = 89.9955 roubles)
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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