RUSSIA TO PROVIDE ARMENIA WITH A LOAN WORTH $500 MLN

ArmInfo
2009-05-20 19:33:00

ArmInfo. Russia and Armenia have signed an agreement on provision of
a loan worth $500 mln, RBC reports.

The document was signed by Russian Vice Premier, Finance Minister
Aleksey Kudrin and Armenian Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan. A.Kudrin
told journalists, the loan is provided at LIBOR+3% rate, which
corresponds to approximately 4% p.a. The loan is provided for 15
years. A 5-year grace period for payment of the principal amount of the
loan is stipulated. "Actually, only the interest will be paid now",-
Kudrin said.

For his part, T.Davtyan stressed that the funds will stimulate the
economy of the country and its further development. In particular,
it is envisaged to allocate funds for infrastructure projects and
support of small and medium business. At the same time, Kudrin pointed
out that other countries also apply to Russia for loans. The minister
recalled that Ukraine has already applied with such a request.

The finance minister stressed that in 2009 Russia will provide a number
of countries with loans for construction and development of nuclear
power plants. According to him, consultations are currently being held
to allocate funds for China and India to develop the nuclear power
plants. "There are similar projects in Bulgaria and Belarus, however,
no final decision taken on any of these countries",- Kudrin said.