MOSCOW - Moscow Exchange has started trading bonds denominated in Chinese yuan as it strives to lure Asian investors, at first offering papers issued by Russian aluminium producer Rusal, Russia's largest bourse said on Wednesday.

Demand for the yuan in Russia has increased since Feb. 24 when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine and the West imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow, limiting its access to the dollar and euro markets.

"Debt instruments denominated in the Chinese yuan open up an additional source of forex liquidity for Russian borrowers," said Gleb Shevelenkov, head of the debt market at Moscow Exchange.

In the first half of 2022, an average daily trade turnover with the yuan on the currency trading section rose by more than 12-fold, Moscow Exchange said.

The yuan-denominated bonds are aimed at a wide range of investors using the Chinese currency and are designed to expand opportunities for professional market participants and their clients, Moscow Exchange said in a statement.

"We hope that in the future the appearance of the yuan bonds in the Russian market will also attract foreign, especially Asian, investors," Shevelenkov said.

The first bonds that Moscow Exchange has started to trade are two of Rusal's yuan-denominated papers maturing in 2027 worth 2 billion yuan ($296.22 million) each.

(Reporting by Reuters)