Belarus’ Development Bank to allocate Br250m on import substitution program

The Development Bank of Belarus will allocate about Br250 million to finance the import substitution program, Aleksandr Yegorov, Chairman of the Board of the Development Bank of Belarus, said in an interview to ONT TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“The bank sees that the program to support small and medium-sized businesses is the most effective in terms of import substitution. SMEs are more flexible, faster, they do not need large business plans. They can purchase two or three machines, make small investment, get high added value and, most importantly, produce the goods that we previously imported from abroad. As part of this program and in accordance with the presidential decree, we plan to allocate about Br250 million to finance the import substitution and export promotion program in 2022,” said Aleksandr Yegorov.

In his words, loans will be distributed through partner banks. “We are currently at the stage of concluding agreements with them. The interest rate for business will be a good one - 7.5% in the Belarusian currency. This is half the inflation rate we have at present. In real terms, the rate is negative and will not exert significant pressure on the financial performance of the enterprise, but it will help to quickly obtain resources, buy equipment, put it into operation and produce import-substituting products,” the chairman of the Board of the Development Bank of Belarus said.

The second area of import substitution is large projects at state enterprises. “We are discussing, first of all, with the Industry Ministry some 13 such projects. We are discussing the terms, possible sources of financing and business plans that these enterprises need,” Aleksandr Yegorov said.