MINSK, 28 April (BelTA) – The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has defined the terms for the provision of the consequent tranches of the loan to Belarus, BelTA has learned.
“The proposed modifications are described in the revised Letter of Intent from the Government and National Bank of Belarus, which states that the conditions for the provision of the fifth through seventh tranches included measures aimed at improving corporate governance at 17 joint stock companies. These include the adoption of corporate codes, the creation of respective committees and the inclusion of independent directors in supervisory boards, the optimization of state-owned assets at the national level by transferring at least 45 state-owned enterprises into community ownership, as well as the sale of government shares in some joint stock companies via the exchange,” reads the press release from the EDB.
The conditions for the sixth tranche include a new control indicator requiring that social protection mechanisms be devised and made effective in order to provide retraining for employees who will be dismissed as a result of reorganization and ensure their employment in the future. This is expected to ensure greater optimization of the staff at state-owned enterprises.
The seventh tranche includes a repeated requirement that local authorities approve the procedure for transferring public utility enterprises into trusts as an additional measure for the rehabilitation of financially unstable state-owned enterprises, primarily in agriculture. This condition now has the status of a control indicator.
As BelTA reported, the Republic of Belarus received the third, $300 million tranche of the financial credit from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) managed by the Eurasian Development Bank. Out of the total of $2billion to support the Belarusian reform program in 2016-2017, the country has already disbursed $1.1 billion (including the previous tranches).
The Fund's Council requested the EDB to arrange consultations with the Belarusian authorities in May in order to negotiate additional measures for subsequent tranches so as to achieve the objectives of the program supported by the EFSD financial credit. The negotiations will focus on developing mechanisms to improve management of state-owned enterprises as a key factor conducive to long-term sustainable growth in Belarus.
