Russia's VTB to place shares on Moscow Exchange in 2013

MOSCOW, March 15 (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest bank by assets VTB plans to place shares on Moscow Exchange this year, the bank's chief executive said on Friday, firming up a timeline for the planned sale of new stock to bolster its capital strength.

"Bank VTB ... plans a wide-scale placement worth tens of billions of roubles on the Moscow Exchange," Andrei Kostin told a banking forum.

"I think that our example will help other companies from Russia and (Commonwealth of Independent States) place here (in Moscow)."

The long-planned offering of new shares by the state-controlled bank has struggled to attract interest so far, and talks with sovereign wealth funds have yet to deliver any firm commitments to back the deal.