Russia eyes smaller than planned budget deficit in 2024, Ifax says
Adds detail on foreign companies from paragraph nine
MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) -Russia's budget deficit for 2024 is expected to be between 1.4 trillion and 1.5 trillion roubles ($14.94 - $16.01 billion), Interfax news agency quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying on Thursday, smaller than in the current plan.
Moscow expects budget revenues and expenditure to sharply increase this year. The financeministry plans to spend 36.7 trillion roubles over the year as it ramps up defence expenditure to fund the conflict in Ukraine.
According to its current budget plan, the ministry expects to attract 35.1 trillion roubles in revenues and record a deficit of 1.6 trillion roubles, or 0.9% of GDP.
"The dynamics of budget execution are better than in previous years," Siluanov told Interfax in an interview. "The budget deficit is now expected at 1.4-1.5 trillion roubles. The execution parameters are within the planned expectations."
Siluanov said his ministry would tweak budget plans for 2025 in light of spending pledges made by President Vladimir Putin in the run-up to his re-election last month.
"These are not small volumes," he said, adding that the ministry was still making calculations, but expected that an extra 1 trillion roubles would be needed each year.
Analysts have calculated that the promises outlined by Putin in his Feb. 29 state of the nation speech, primarily on infrastructure and social spending, could cost closer to 2 trillion roubles a year.
"Additional money is needed," Siluanov said.
He also touched on foreign company departures from Russia. He said the $1 billion monthly cap on foreign currency that can be purchased to settle deals with non-residents was working effectively and that there were no plans to change it.
Major corporate departures have at times put pressure on the rouble.
"There were almost no major deals this year, with the exception of Yandex," Siluanov said, referring to the $5.2-billion deal agreed to see Russia's largest technology company pass into the ownership of a consortium of Russian investors.
"Now, small companies are leaving. So, yes, in the past the influence was strong, now a limit has been set, and we are working within this limit."
($1 = 93.7000 roubles)
Reporting by Reuters; writing by Alexander Marrow; editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich
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