Bangladesh finds way to pay Russia for nuclear plant: with yuan

Using China's currency to skirt bank restrictions could irk Western partners

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The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Bangladesh's first such facility, is seen under construction west of Dhaka in February.  © Reuters

FAISAL MAHMUD, Contributing writer

DHAKA -- Bangladesh appears to have found a workaround for stalled payments it owes Russia for a nuclear power plant: settling them in Chinese yuan.

With U.S. and European sanctions barring Russia from much of the international banking system, Dhaka has been scrambling for ways to settle repayments worth $110 million for the still under construction Rooppur power plant. But last week, a high-level delegation from Russia and Bangladesh's Ministry of Finance agreed that the bills could be paid in yuan.

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