InfraVEB (part of the VEB Group) will provide financial support for public-private partnership projects in the Kursk Region, InfraVEB CEO Dmitry Tvardovsky said to a meeting of the Council on Investment Climate Improvement and Investor Relations.
“Project investment without public budget funds is high on InfraVEB’s list of priorities; therefore, we are willing to support the preparation of PPP projects intended for the Kursk Region,” Tvardovsky said. Above all, this concerns municipal economy development projects under concession agreements.
The meeting focused on the Kursk Region’s investment potential, opportunities to carry out investment projects and investment climate improvement.
InfraVEB is part of the VEB Group. The company prepares and supports early-stage investment projects without public investment and provides support for investment- and operation-stage projects. As specified in the Memorandum on Financial Policies of VEB.RF, developing the country’s infrastructure and freeing economic growth from infrastructural constraints are a priority.
Interest-Free Loans Backed by VEB.RF and RSMB Corporation: Monotowns Fund to Finance Investment Projects for One-Factory Towns
Investors will be able to get far greater financial backing from the Monotowns Development Fund. As resolved by the Supervisory Board of the Fund, loan maturities will be extended from 8 to 15 years, the Fund’s maximum share in financing for a project will increase from 40 to 80% of the project value, while the Fund’s minimum share in financing for an investment project will decrease from 100 to 10 million roubles. The time required to examine documents submitted by project initiators will be reduced from 65 to 35 business days.
Any investment project worth 250 million roubles or less financed by the Fund will be eligible for an interest-free loan, provided that collateral is only bank guarantees and/or surety bonds issued by RSMB Corporation/SME Bank and/or guarantees issued by VEB.RF.
The Supervisory Board of the Fund approved several other decisions. For instance, changes were made to the co-financing procedure for expenses incurred by Russian regions and municipalities to carry out construction and/or rehabilitation projects for infrastructural facilities in single-industry towns. Applications for such co-financing can now be submitted to the Fund electronically.
It is intended that the decisions will increase the number of investment projects with potential financing from the Fund, will expand regional coverage and will provide greater support for small and medium-sized businesses to promote municipal economy development projects for single-industry towns.
The meeting of the Supervisory Board approved the Fund’s co-financing for the investment project to rehabilitate the existing production of terephthalic acid at POLIEF in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan. The Fund will lend 1 billion roubles at 5% p.a. for 8 years. POLIEF is a subsidiary of SIBUR. The project is intended to rehabilitate the existing production of terephthalic acid, primary feedstock used to make modern plastic packaging for fluid foods. The project is expected to increase output to 350,000 tonnes per year. POLIEF is Russia’s biggest producer of terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate.
The Monotowns Development Fund is a not-for-profit organisation founded by VEB in 2014. The Fund is a national development institution whose activities are focused on creating the necessary conditions for new jobs and investment in one-factory municipalities, along with improvements to the urban environment. The Memorandum on Financial Policies of VEB.RF specifies that the development of one-factory towns, including building their infrastructure and industrial facilities, is a high priority.