TOKYO
Japan will provide about 4 billion yen ($39 million) in loans to Sberbank of Russia by the end of the year to help construct facilities at a port in the Russian Far East, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
The loan to be offered through the government-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation is apparently part of efforts to advance talks on disputed islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan in December.
It is rare for the JBIC to provide loans alone without partner banks in the private sector.