Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised to launch a new Russian privatisation drive before courting over lunch the heads of some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and money managers.

Putin, who ultimately holds the power to decide, spoke clearly in favour of it for the first time since the financial crisis hit Russia, though no specific timetable was announced, according to a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

'As the situation stabilises and the effects of the crisis are overcome, we intend to reduce state involvement in the economy and, even more than that, we will activate the processes of privatisation,' Putin told an investment forum in Moscow.

After the speech Putin had lunch with the heads of sovereign wealth funds from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Oman as well as private investment funds.

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, who is in charge of the new privatisation programme that will aim to bring in over $3 billion into the budget in next year alone, was in Singapore yesterday, wooing Asian investors.