The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has received an application from the Belarusian government with a request to provide pre-privatization services for five prominent enterprises, Francis Delaey, the EBRD’s Head of Office in Belarus, reported.
The EBRD has received an inquiry from the Belarusian government with a request to assist in pre-privatizing five major enterprises, said Francis Delaey. According to him, the EBRD will choose one and will focus on searching for a strategic investor for that company.
Francis Delaey said: “We will not be able to work on the pre-privatization of all five enterprises simultaneously. We are now evaluating these enterprises to choose one and repeat a similar scenario we have gone through with Belinvestbank”.
Belarus and the EBRD signed an agreement on joint activities, which would eventually lead to Belarus’ government selling a majority stake in OAO Belinvestbank by 2020. The memorandum of cooperation was signed on May 13, 2015 in the framework of the EBRD’s annual meeting by EBRD first vice president Phil Bennett and Belarus Vice Premier Vladimir Semashko.
The EBRD will become a minority shareholder in Belinvestbank by acquiring a 25% stake.
Since the start of its operations in Belarus in 1992, the EBRD has invested almost 1.8 billion euro in some 70 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy.
Belinvestbank was created in September 2001. Belarus’ government holds a 97.77% stake in the bank’s charter capital. Belinvestbank is the country’s fourth largest bank with regard to assets, statutory capital, customers’ deposits, corporate credit portfolio and the sixth largest bank with regard to equity capital.
As of September 1, Belinvestbank’s regulatory capital stood at Br377 million (around $184.973 million). (Prime-TASS/Business World Magazine)
