Russia is to keep its $151bn (€103bn) national wealth fund invested solely in sovereign bonds next year, marking a sharp turnaround from the government's initial plan to invest a proportion of the cash in corporate bonds and stock in line with other sovereign funds.

The ministry of finance had planned to invest up to $19bn in corporate debt from February 1. The government is deliberating over how best to use the wealth fund and the investment returns that it stands to make.