The Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus. An archive photo
MINSK, 22 August (BelTA) – The Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus (DBRB) has explained how financial support for export is organized in Belarus and what tools are available, BelTA has learned.
The DBRB press service said: “Just like in any other country in Belarus export is the engine of development of the economy. Sales of Belarusian goods and services on foreign markets allow accelerating the GDP growth rate, ensuring an inflow of foreign capital into the country, and reinforcing positions of the national currency. It is also important that export operations encourage Belarusian companies to improve the quality of their goods and services in order to beat competition on foreign markets. All consumers benefit as a result.”
Multiple tools designed to provide all kinds of support to Belarusian exporters are available in the country nowadays. The Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus provides comprehensive support to domestic manufacturers with that. The bank has consolidated efficient mechanisms for assisting with export buildup and has established the necessary financial bridges with non-residents. “In the highly competitive present it is not always sufficient to offer quality goods and services in order to maintain efficient export operations. It is often necessary to provide participants of the important economic process with accompanying support tools. The infrastructure the bank has developed allows providing financial resources both to Belarusian exporters and directly to non-residents for the sake of paying for Belarusian goods and services,” the DBRB stressed.
How can one get support?
Getting financial support from the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus is quite simple. You have to contact the bank or its branches where DBRB specialists will consult the potential borrower and assist with filling in a package of documents. The specialists will be able to answer questions concerning peculiarities and parameters of the export deal. The Development Bank provides several options for promoting Belarusian goods and services abroad. Financing the organizations, which reside in Belarus, is one of them. The bank can provide an export loan or factoring directly to an exporter. Then the parties can sign an agreement on direct export lending or factoring. The bank also provides financing to the leasing companies that reside in Belarus for the sake of providing international leasing services or for signing sales contracts with payment by installment with foreign buyers.
The second option is one of the key advantages of the Development Bank’s export support. The bank can finance non-residents, who are eager to buy Belarusian goods and services. It allows an exporter to grab a unique opportunity for increasing the volume of export by offering not only goods on the international market but also the resources the customer can use to buy the goods. With this in mind the Development Bank can grant an export loan directly to a foreign buyer or a leasing company for the sake of transactions with Belarusian exporters. Apart from that, foreign buyers can get financing via a foreign bank, with which the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus has signed an interbank credit agreement.
Surety in the form of an insurance policy from Eximgarant of Belarus is a mandatory condition for any export loan from the Development Bank. The exporter can also contact the country’s leading leasing company OAO Promagroleasing where the exporter can get international leasing services or can sell the goods to a non-resident buyer via an installment plan.
Financing terms
Interest rates represent a competitive advantage of the financing options available from the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Residents are offered loans with the interest rate of at least two thirds of the refinancing rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB). Non-residents can get financing on the same terms. Foreign borrowers can also get financing as Russian rubles with the interest rate of at least two thirds of the refinancing rate of Russia’s Central Bank.
Financing can be as high as 100% of the export contract if the loan or the revolving line of credit is granted for a period of up to one year. If the term is longer, then the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus can finance up to 85% of the export contract. The maximum borrowing period is seven years depending on terms of the export loan.
How actively do enterprises use financial incentives for export operations?
Belarusian manufacturers actively use financial export incentives of the Development Bank. The equivalent of over $6 billion has been spent on these goals over the 11 years of the program’s existence. In 2023 the Development Bank’s export financing exceeded the level of the previous year by 65% and amounted to Br4.3 billion or the equivalent of $1.4 billion. The share of non-resident borrowers in the export financing of the Development Bank was close to 40% in 2023 and continued growing in 2024. It is worth noting that every Br1 invested by the Development Bank in export incentives in 2023 generated Br3.3 worth of Belarusian exports on the average.
The rate has increased considerably this year. A record high volume of export financing was provided in H1 2024: Br3.1 billion or over $980 million. The Development Bank signed new export financing contracts worth a total of over Br1.8 billion or over $560 million.
To enable shipments of Belarusian goods abroad, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus has created the necessary financial infrastructure that covers over 60 countries. Agreements have been signed with financial institutions of the countries that dominate the structure of Belarus’ export and with financial institutions on promising markets of faraway countries. The bank continues working hard to expand export support through non-financial tools, which are developed as part of the work of OAO Agency of International Business Development. The agency is focused on providing consulting and information support to Belarusian companies as they try to penetrate new target markets, including by means of digital trade. The agency also assists with working out mechanisms for honoring obligations as part of foreign trade deals, with organizing deliveries of critical imported raw materials and equipment. The agency also facilitates export contracts and the establishment of logistic routes and financial transaction schemes despite restrictions on foreign trade transactions of Belarusian residents.
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