Business news

CCXI assigns Belarus its maiden rating
The agency pointed to the country’s economic recovery after two years of recession, the sustainability of public finances thanks to the fiscal consolidation measures...

Shanghai interested in Minsk’s experience of SME development
Gu Hongxiang, deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, noted that Belarus-China relations develop rapidly across the board. He underlined the importance of interaction at the level of individual cities...

Belarusian ailing companies encouraged to explore import substitution opportunities
“I’ve just got back and they are telling me already that holding companies and something else will be established in Orsha. In other words, they want to mix unmatchable things. Don’t waste your time with these holding companies”...

Lukashenko wants Belarusian engines to be as good as world’s best
"I want MMZ to take dramatic steps. It is a nodal enterprise. We cannot be a mechanical engineering country without developing our own engine manufacturing industry. And these engines should be as good as the world’s best"...

Belarus’ external debt down 1.1% to $16.5bn
Since the beginning of the year, Belarus spent $1,592 billion to repay the external debt, including $800 million in eurobonds, $337.7 million paid to Chinese banks, $244.3 million to the Russian government, $176.6 million to the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development...

Plans to expand list of Belarusian enterprises seeking Chinese investments
Government agencies, including the Architecture and Construction Ministry, the state light industry concern Bellegprom, and the state food industry concern Belgospishcheprom, have suggested adding five enterprises to the list...

Belarusian-Chinese Zoomlion-MAZ starts mass-producing country’s largest automobile cranes
The new automobile cranes are assembled at premises of the Mogilevtransmash company in Mogilev. The vehicle borrowed the CIS’ best chassis from the Belarusian automobile engineering company MAZ and modern mounted equipment from Zoomlion Corporation...

Plans for new government program to support SMEs in Belarus
Alexander Turchin underlined that it is quite an ambitious task, including the timeframe. The relevant regulatory act needs to be drafted by the end of the year...

EBRD working towards financing new projects in Belarusian rubles
"Today we estimate economic and macroeconomic potential risks as acceptable. They allow us to invest in the Belarusian economy. We are working hard on the list of potential projects we are going to finance in the local currency"...

Minsk, Tallinn mull over direct flights
The parties considered the main areas of the Belarusian-Estonian bilateral relations. Sven Mikser praised the recent intensification of Belarus-Estonia contacts in diffirent areas...

SIDA considering SME project in Belarus
It was suggested to explore the options for the integration of SIDA project activities with Belarus’ efforts in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the National Human Rights Action Plan...

Belarus interested in Finnish presence in robot technology, petrochemical industry
“First of all, we would like to draw attention to microelectronics, robot technology, bio- and additive technologies, petrochemical industry, and modern woodworking industry,” said the MP...

Belarus, Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast to cooperate in tourism
Sergei Kovalchuk stressed that Russia is a popular travel destination for many Belarusians and Russians show great interest in Belarus...

EBRD lends Br20m to MTBank, BNB Bank each to finance SMEs
The loans came from international investors. The EBRD raises monetary assets in Belarusian rubles and channels them into Belarus’ domestic market...

FEZ Grodnoinvest exports up 57% in H1 2018
The export statistics in the first six months of 2018 confirmed the upward trend for FEZ Grodnoinvest supplies abroad. In addition, the geography of supplies expanded to 69 countries...

China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone companies to start making lasers, diesel engines this year
"We expect another two manufacturing facilities to be commissioned by the end of the year. They will make laser equipment and diesel engines. The first one is being built by an American investor, the second one by OOO MAZ-Weichai"...

Supercapacitor factory opens in China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone
“It is the first research and manufacturing project in the industrial park. The products will be used in Belarus and exported later on.” Plans have been made to export supercapacitors to Russia, Ukraine, other Eurasian Economic Union and European states...

Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast shows interest in MTZ compact tractors
The delegation of Astrakhan Oblast visited the company during an official visit to Belarus. The guests got acquainted with the plant’s product lineup...

Belarus earns Br6.7m from ‘Google tax’ in H1 2018
As many as 48 foreign companies have been registered with the Belarusian tax service to pay the “Google tax”. The number includes Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Linkedin, Booking, Uber, Wargaming, Viber, and Microsoft...

Belarus to sell more beef to China
Leonid Zayats met with top executives of the China Meat Association (CMA), Great Silk Road Company, and Chengdu Haiyunda Company...