VITEBSK, 2 November (BelTA) – Some of the loans granted by China to Belarus should be spent on supporting the private sector. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko gave the relevant instruction as he visited the Vitebsk fur factory on 2 November, BelTA has learned.
Alexander Lukashenko said: “We have a large number of commercial Chinese loans we have yet to spend. Seven billion. There are also cheap loans. Recently I gave instructions to stop focusing on giant companies only. There is a solid private business owner we know. They are not some charlatans. We should help them. They will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in exchange for 20-30 million [U.S. dollars].”
Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the government does not necessary have to spend hundreds of millions or billions of U.S. dollars on building new private enterprises.
The head of state mentioned the Vitebsk fur factory as an example. After Marko Company bought the enterprise in 2013, about $24 million has been invested in its reconstruction and modernization. Over 300 jobs have been created. Plans have been made to raise the number to 500.
“An excellent enterprise,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “If he [Marko Company Director General Nikolai Martynov] did not prove himself, I would not talk to him about this holding company or this thing. He has proven himself as a good private business manager.”
