* Russia to create consolidated treasury bourse in 2011
* FinMin to offer OFZ bonds to wider number of investors
* Cbank to start basket repo operations in St Petersburg
By Elena Fabrichnaya
MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russia plans to upgrade its financial markets in 2011, launching unified clearing system and a bourse for big forex and debt players, opening up OFZ treasury bond trading to more investors and offering simpler repo deals.
"The major project for the next year is a creation of the treasury bourse," central bank board member Sergei Shvetsov told a Repo-forum on Tuesday.
Underdeveloped financial markets and the absence of a centralised clearing system are among the problems faced by investors in Russia, and reform is a key to President Dmitry Medvedev's goal of developing it as a financial centre.
Shvetsov said the new treasury bourse will be formed by consolidating existing markets and will feature a common clearing system for forex and bond trading, as well as for repo and deposit operations and the central bank's loan auctions.
"It is a separate segment of the infrastructure, which provides services for treasuries of the major banks without the presence of internet brokers that service individuals," said Shvetsov. "It is implemented at Deutsche Bourse."
In December Deutsche Bourse
Meanwhile MICEX and RTS have been in long-term talks about the possibility of merging but an agreement between shareholders has yet to be reached.
"We want to make a consolidated money market. If the merger between MICEX and RTS succeeds, it will be even better," Shvetsov said.
LIQUID OFZs
A shake-up of Russia's markets will also see the Finance Ministry choosing an exchange to hold its OFZ treasury bond auctions, thus boosting access, Shvetsov said.
The main bulk of government bonds trade currently takes place on a separate section of the MICEX and only a limited list of banks have access to it. This section is also used by the Finance Ministry for primary placement of OFZ bonds.
Shvetsov said the Finance Ministry will hold a contest among Russian exchanges, including MICEX, to choose a platform for OFZ placement once necessary amendments to the legislation are made.
"If such amendments are adopted, the door for OFZ placement at exchanges will be opened and in one-two years' time the MICEX section for government bonds will be dismantled," Shvetsov said.
The RTS has repeatedly expressed interest in trading in OFZ bonds, which are widely used by investors to park excessive rouble liquidity.
"The main issue is to enhance the liquidity of government papers. It will attract more investors as corporate and government bonds will be traded at a common exchange," said Vladimir Kolychev, an analyst at Rosbank.
The government plans to place up to 200 billion roubles worth of OFZ bonds in December to finance the budget, in addition the around 680 billion roubles already placed since the start of the year. [ID:nLDE6B91HI]
REPO IN PETERSBURG
Russia also plans to simplify repo operations with the central bank -- a key source of money during periods of tight market liquidity -- by trialling a new tool in St Petersburg.
The central bank plans to start repo operation at the Saint Petersburg currency exchange (SPCEX) by the middle of 2011, taking a basket of securities as a collateral for transactions.
"The collateral will be a basket rather than a single paper. There will be the possibility to replace securities within the basket," Shvetsov said.
Currently the central bank carries out repo transactions on the MICEX exchange and on the interbank market on a straight forward collateral basis.
Shvetsov said the so-called "basket repo" will be later implemented at the MICEX exchange.
(Additional reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Patrick Graham))