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Chakrabarti confirms EBRD’s plans to acquire stake in Belinvestbank

MINSK, 4 March (BelTA) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to buy a stake in Belinvestbank, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti told the media after his meeting with Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko on 4 March, BelTA has learned.

“We have discussed this matter. During our first meeting with the Belarusian president in 2015, the focus was on this project. In my opinion, over the past three to four years we have made significant progress. First of all, Belinvestbank has reported considerable profits for the first time in many years. As the next step, we plan to acquire a stake in the bank within the framework of cooperation between the Belarusian government and the EBRD,” said Suma Chakrabarti.

In his words, the sum has not been discussed yet. “This process will rely on commercial basis to make it more attractive for foreign investors. This will allow reducing interest rates when Belinvestbank goes international. In my opinion, this process will certainly be successful,” the EBRD head said.

“We are waiting for a formal proposal from the EBRD,” the economy minister Dmitry Krutoi said as he answered the question regarding the prospects for the  EBRD acquiring a stake in the Belarusian bank.

He also confirmed that the EBRD has not yet decided on the amount of stake which can reach 20-25% at the most. It can be a smaller package of shares. “If there is a formal proposal from the bank, then we are set to complete all the procedures by the end of the year,” the minister said.

BelTA reported earlier, that head of the EBRD representative office in Belarus Alexander Pivovarsky told the media that the EBRD expects to complete the stake purchase transaction in H1 2019. The main task of the transaction is to beef up the bank to attract a strategic investor in the future. Due diligence done, the commercial and other matters are currently under discussion.

The EBRD is an international bank, which facilitates the development of the private sector and entrepreneurship initiative in 38 economies on three continents. The EBRD shareholders include 67 countries, the European Union, and the European Investment Bank. Since the EBRD began working in Belarus in 1992, the bank has invested over €2.4 billion in various branches of the national economy.

The public joint-stock company (OAO) Belinvestbank is one of the largest systemic banks in Belarus. It has a well-developed regional network and is one of the largest issuers of bank cards in the country.

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