| EBRD boosts financing for Belarus small businesses |
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15/12/2008 05:35 (1153 Day 21:22 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is committing $10 million to Belgasprombank as part of a $40 million loan approved by the EBRD board to finance a five-year lending programme for Belarus’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
This type of lending already accounts for the majority of Belgasprombank’s loan portfolio, providing proof of the commercial viability of this niche financing. This is the EBRD’s fourth loan to Belgasprombank targeting this vital sector of the economy.
It is precisely this sector which promotes entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility and resilience of the economy so critical in these volatile times and holds the key to the creation of new sustainable jobs in Belarus, said the EBRD’s Head of Office in Belarus Valdas Vitkauskas. And it is the development of this sector which will promote the growth of the middle class Belarus so badly needs, Mr Vitkauskas added.
Loans for micro businesses under this programme can be for a maximum of $200,000 whereas larger enterprises in the sector will qualify for loans in a range starting from $200,000 and peaking at $1 million. They aim both to finance firms’ capital expenditure plans and provide them with working capital.
Belgasprombank, established in 1990, ranks as Belarus’s seventh largest as measured by assets. It is controlled by Russia’s Gazprom group.
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