Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 26 November (BelTA) – The equivalent of $2 billion the Belarusian government intends to borrow on foreign financial markets will be spent on refinancing the external state debt, BelTA learned from Belarusian Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich on 26 November.

BelTA reported earlier that on 23 November Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed decree No.458 on procuring external government loans. The document authorizes the government of the Republic of Belarus to float long-term government securities on foreign financial markets in 2018-2020 in order to raise the equivalent of $2 billion. Maksim Yermolovich said: “In this period, I mean 2019-2020, we will have to pay off the state debt to the tune of $5.4 billion. Some of the $5.4 billion will be refinanced. In the to-be-refinanced part $2 billion will be raised as untied credit resources, which we are going to get abroad by floating the relevant bonds for a broad spectrum of investors.”

In his words, raising the money will be done over the course of two years. “We are considering the Russian Federation market and the markets of China as well as eurobonds, which can be used in 2020,” said Maksim Yermolovich.

The official went on saying that the domestic financial market will be used for borrowing purposes, too. “We will stay present on the home market with our long-term government bonds. $2 billion is what we are going to borrow abroad,” said the official.