Ecuador expects $2.5 bln in Russian financing

QUITO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Ecuador expects to receive more than $2.5 billion in financing from Russia to develop "strategic sectors" of the oil exporting country's economy, President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday.

The leftist leader was in Russia last week when Moscow announced that Ecuador had asked for a loan.

Terms of the financing were not disclosed.

Ecuador has already signed a $1 billion cash-for-oil deal with China, and Correa told Reuters last month that he expected more bilateral deals in the future.

"There are a lot of projects," Correa told local radio, "for example, financing of more than $2.5 billion for Ecuador's strategic sectors." Correa did not elaborate on what sectors would receive financing.

Oil is the biggest industry of OPEC member Ecuador, which produces 500,000 barrels per day of crude. Russia pumps 20 times as much.

Ecuador has said it wants to invite Russian companies to extract oil on its territory, and is in talks with several companies, including state-owned Zarubezhneft .

Russia, which is the world's third largest holder of gold and forex reserves worth some $400 billion, has attracted many loan requests from crisis-hit countries. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Leslie Adler)