MINSK, 19 March (BelTA) - Alesya Yakimush, Head of Client Management Department at the Development Bank spoke about the bank’s preferential products for businesses in Belarus during the conference Private Sector Investment and Product Quality - A Growth Reserve for the Belarusian Economy, BelTA has learned.
Alesya Yakimush highlighted the priority credit programs for businesses - Tourism Potential, Strong Regions, and Technological Self-Sufficiency. “The most accessible product is Tourism Potential, which offers an interest rate below the inflation level - 6% per annum. This product is aimed at projects related to improving the creation and modernization of accommodation facilities such as sanatoriums, resort centers, health and wellness centers, hotels, and others. The exception is the implementation of projects in Minsk. The maximum loan amount for this product is Br100 million, with loan terms of up to 15 years,” she said.
The next direction is the credit product Strong Regions. “This product can be used by those implementing projects in the manufacturing industry, with a rate of 7% per annum, and 6.5% for projects implemented in agricultural regions. The exception is the implementation of projects in regional centers and adjacent districts. The maximum loan amount for the Strong Regions product is Br30 million, with a loan term of up to 10 years,” the head of the department said.
To stimulate the implementation of more high-tech projects, the Technological Self-Sufficiency product is provided. “It is suitable for lending to import-substituting projects, for developments aimed at localizing one’s own production or the production of other business entities, projects in the field of local raw material processing (primarily wood and flax), as well as projects aimed at the production of robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, and the development of biotechnologies. Under this product, the rate varies between 6-7% per annum depending on the project’s direction, with financing terms of up to 15 years. The amount ranges from Br100 million to Br200 million,” Alesya Yakimush said. “For all the mentioned products, the preferential interest rate applies for up to seven years, after which a market rate is applied.”
She also explained how to gain access to these preferential resources. “The most important thing is to clearly understand the parameters of your future project and what is planned to be carried out within its framework. This is necessary in order to understand how much time will be needed to develop one or another document. Second, you need to go to the website regional-initiative.bel, go to the section you are interested in, and download the corresponding application form. It is a file into which the main parameters of the project and information about the initiator are entered. After that, the application is uploaded on the same resource and sent for review through the Belarusian Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs to the Economy Ministry. The average review period is up to 30 calendar days from the date of submission. Projects will be excluded from the list within six months after registration if the initiator has not applied to the bank with a complete package of documents to obtain financing. The last thing to do is to submit the corresponding complete package of documents to the bank,” the head of the department said.
The Development Bank also provides financing for government projects within the framework of state programs, such as Agro-Industrial Complex of the Future. Starting this year, projects aimed at the construction and reconstruction of specialized complexes for fattening young bulls will receive support.
Financing for the construction of dairy farms or fruit storage facilities can be obtained by winning a competition organized by the Development Bank jointly with the Agriculture and Food Ministry. “For loans under state programs, the interest rate equals the refinancing rate – 9.75% per annum. Financing is provided for an amount not exceeding 100% of the capital expenditure cost including VAT, with a loan term of up to 15 years. For the bull fattening complexes, this term is up to 20 years,” added Alesya Yakimush.
In order to stimulate the implementation of such projects, the state provides a form of financial support in the form of budget transfer payments. “The budget transfer is paid in two stages: the first - after the facility is put into operation, the second - after it reaches its design capacity. The maximum transfer amount is 35% of capital expenditures excluding VAT. According to the decree on the creation of complexes for fattening young bulls, state support is expressed in the form of subsidies for interest payments,” the head of the department said.
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