Global Trade Alert

On 12 April 2016 the Belarusian Government (according to Decree No. 298 of the Council of Ministers of Belarus) issued a state guarantee for a credit with a final beneficiary the holding company 'Horizont'.
 
The concrete financial scheme is as follows:

• Belvnesheconombank Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC 'Bank BelVEB') is to provide a credit to the holding company 'Horizont' at the amount of 100 million yuan (ca 15.48 million USD at the time of the issuance of Decree No. 298) with maturity 31 March 2018 and fixed interest rate at the amount of 7.50% per annum.
• The Belarusian state is to cover with the state guarantee the payment of the principal credit amount and the due interest rate related to this credit.
• The purpose of the loan is provision of working capital for the holding company 'Horizont' for payment of raw materials related to supplies for its business activity (electronic and telecommunications goods, a description availabe at: http://www.horizont.by/).
• The expiry date of the state guarantee is not disclosed.

 
Decree No. 298 entered into force on the day of its official approval.
 
On 23 June 2016 the Belarusian Government (according to Decree No. 488 of the Council of Ministers of Belarus) changed the formula for the calculation of the interest rate accrued on the state-backed credit under Decree No. 298. This amendment results in an interest decrease under the current economic conditions. Since the conditions for the final beneficiary, the local Belarusian holding company "Horizont", are better, the GTA has classified this state intervention as red.

Concretely, the interest rate was changed from fixed accrual at the amount of 7.50% per annum to floating calculated as Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (SHIBOR) + 4.00% per annum. On 29 June 2016, the day of official publication of Decree No. 488, the overnight SHIBOR was at the amount of 2.04% per annum, while the annual SHIBOR was at the amount of 3.05% per annum. Although information as to which of these SHIBOR rates is not officially available, a conclusion can be drawn that in both cases the new interest accrual terms are more beneficial than the older ones since 2.04+4.00<7.50 and 3.05+4.00<7.50.

Decree No. 488 entered into force on the day of its official publication.
 
The GTA includes state guarantees and other financial incentives that are likely to affect the restructuring and performance of firms facing international competition, whether from imports, in export markets, and from foreign subsidiaries.