2 July 2009
Belarusian premier meets with CEO of Russia’s Sberbank

Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski met with German Gref, CEO of Sberbank, in Minsk on Wednesday to discuss the Russian bank’s involvement in the privatization of Belarusian companies.

“We would like to discuss matters that concern both privatization and the development of relations between Sberbank and Belarusian enterprises,” the Council of Ministers’ press office quoted Mr. Sidorski as saying.

He suggested that Sberbank could provide loans and advice to Belarusian enterprises.

Mr. Gref, for his part, described Belarus as a priority market for the Russian bank. “Our development strategy says that Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan - are the top priority partners with which we will develop business,” he said.

Sberbank currently has subsidiary banks in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. “We will take efforts to have worthy representation in the Belarusian market of financial services, in particular in these difficult times when few investors express an intention to expand their business,” Mr. Gref noted.

The executive described Sberbank’s relations with Belarus’ government and National Bank as constructive.

“Since February we have reached considerable progress on an overwhelming majority of issues specified in the memorandum of cooperation. Today we are ready for a conversation on specific projects. We will put all agreements into practice in the near future,” Mr. Gref said.

Earlier this year, Sberbank announced that it was considering the acquisition of Belprambudbank.

The Belarusian government, which holds 95 percent in Belprambudbank, and the National Bank of Belarus have repeatedly said that they are ready to consider offers to buy stakes in the bank.

Founded in 1923, Belprambudbank is one of Belarus' oldest and largest banks. It offers a full range of services to corporate clients in key economic sectors. Its assets rose by an estimated 24.5 percent in 2008 to 4,450 billion rubels. //BelaPAN