Russia Inter RAO to ink deals with EDF, Alghanim

MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - Russian electricity trader Inter RAO (IRAO.MM) will sign two separate deals this week to cooperate with a unit of French utility EDF (EDF.PA) and with Kuwaiti firm Fouad Alghanim & Sons Co, it said on Wednesday.

The agreement with the Kuwaiti conglomerate will lay the groundwork for the creation of a joint investment fund in the electricity sector with state-controlled Inter RAO, a source familiar with the preparation of the documents told Reuters.

This would be the first investment fund created by Inter RAO, which handles the import and export of electricity in Russia and also produces power at stations scattered around the former Soviet Union.

The agreement with the EDF subsidiary, Fenice, will be a memorandum of understanding, Inter RAO said.

Both documents will be signed during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on June 6-7, a statement said.

Fouad Alghanim & Sons operates in sectors including construction materials, retail, automotive and financial services. (Reporting by Tatyana Yegorova, writing by Simon Shuster; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)