Sergei Rumas
MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) – Since 2014 the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus has finances 440 investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Chairman of the Board of the Development Bank Sergei Rumas told media on 1 March after the ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding with the UNDP, BelTA has learned.
“Our SMEs promotion program was launched in August 2014. Over the period the Development Bank has financed 440 investment projects of small and medium-sized business. The total amount of loans we have allocated made up Br590 billion,” Sergei Rumas noted. Since the start of the program Br2 trillion worth of projects have been financed with the participation of partner banks.
According to the Chairman of the Board, the SMEs promotion program is a special project which the bank takes pride in. “Over the past two years this project has made considerable progress. In the late 2015 we presented two new products for SMEs. The first one is designed for startup companies. Its main feature is a low interest rate of 17% per annum in the Belarusian rubles. The second product is tailored for the companies that cannot get credit support. It will be implemented with the help of our subsidiary company Promagroleasing,” he said.
Sergei Rumas stressed that the resources of the Development Bank made up more than 70% of the increase in the Belarusian ruble long-term loans provided by all Belarusian banks to small and medium-sided business.
“Besides, we are in talks with the World Bank and hope for its support in the implementation of additional projects. The Development Bank has already been selected as a partner of the World Bank. We will serve the credit constituent of the program planned by this international financial institute. We expect that this year we will be able to sign all necessary documents and launch financing,” said Sergei Rumas.
The Chairman of the Board of the Development Bank noted that the investment credit support provided to economic entities by the bank increased by 40% last year. “We issued more than $640 million worth of loans on long-term economic projects. The majority of them were infrastructure-oriented, with the focus to support the entire economic sectors and industries. It is an important result of the previous year. Over the five years more than $2 billion of our resources were invested in the projects of the national economy,” stressed Sergei Rumas.
The Development Bank of Belarus and the UNDP signed a memorandum of understanding on 1 March. The new format of cooperation between the UNDP and the Development Bank suggests co-financing of the initiatives to stimulate local and regional economic development. These initiatives will be aimed at creating additional jobs in small and medium-sized towns, encouraging the development of small and medium-sized businesses and socially-oriented business, including women's entrepreneurship.
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