December, 2010 - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has announced an increase of foreign trade transactions limit, established in favour of Belgazprombank within the framework
of the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) which is raised from $ 20 to 40 million.
Belgazprombank joined the programme in 2004 and has been actively using the limit to finance foreign trade transactions of its customers, particularly, in manufacturing, metal production,
wholesale trade and transportation. Additionally Belgazprombank has succeeded in using the opportunity to support transactions involving state-owned companies in Belarus which was provided earlier
this year to the Bank under TFP.
The previous TFP limit allowed the Bank to support export and import transactions of its customers with the tenor of up to 3 years. The increased limit will allow Belgazprombank to use support
from EBRD to finance foreign intra-regional trade deals with the tenors of up to 5 years.
The EBRD launched its TFP initiative in 1999 in order to revive east-west trade which had collapsed in the aftermath of the Russian financial crisis a year earlier. Over 9,900 trade deals worth
over €5.99 billion ($8.01 billion) have since been facilitated through this EBRD programme, including 314 transactions in Belarus worth €260 million ($347 million).
Belgazprombank, established in 1990 and controlled by Russia’s Gazprom group, occupies leading positions in lending to the Belarusian private sector, particularly SME and retail
sectors.
