OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2008. Vnesheconombank, The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Kazyna Capital Management (KCM) confirm their intentions to invest in the Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF, the Fund), the first major CIS infrastructure fund, it was announced today at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Vnesheconombank intends to be the Fund-s Cornerstone investor with a commitment of US\\$200 million. EDB will be the Fund-s Pan-CIS strategic partner with a commitment of up to US\\$200 million. KCM will be the Fund-s strategic partner for Central Asia with a commitment of up to US\\$50 million. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are also considering providing up to US\\$100 million each in equity for MRIF in both cases subject to consideration and approval by their respective boards.

The Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund is targeting total investor commitments of US\\$1-1.5 billion, which will include up to US\\$50 million each from Macquarie Group and Renaissance.

According to Igor Yurgens, Chairman of Macquarie Renaissance, the Fund will provide investors with diversified exposure to a large and growing infrastructure market. "In Russia alone, it has been estimated that approximately US\\$1 trillion will be spent on infrastructure projects over the next 10 years, and it is anticipated that the private sector will play a key role in this expansion program. We look forward to developing this market together with these well respected institutions," Mr Yurgens said.

Infrastructure growth in the CIS is expected to be driven by a number of factors:
strong macroeconomic fundamentals
growing business and consumer demand for improved infrastructure services, such as roads, ports, airports and utilities
relative underinvestment in infrastructure since the early 1990s
an acceptance by government authorities of the key role of the private sector in accelerating infrastructure development
recent introduction of legal frameworks designed to facilitate private investment in the sector.
"We believe the Fund is well positioned to participate in many of the exciting opportunities we are seeing in the CIS infrastructure sector. We are pursuing several attractive investment opportunities in greenfield PPPs as well as assets requiring investment for modernisation and/or expansion," said Paulo Almeida, Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Renaissance.