20/09/2011 19:33
China is to loan $1 billion Belorussia
Belarus, which is going through a serious economic crisis, will receive a helping hand from China. The Asian powerhouse will loan $1 billion in exchange for preferences for Chinese companies in acquiring shares in Belarusian industrial facilities.
Chair of the Chinese Parliament Wu Bangguo, who is visiting Minsk, confirmed the deal on Monday after meeting President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The loan will be transferred in three tranches before the year’s end. Together with a loan from the Eurasian Economic Community (the economic union of several former Soviet states) will allow Belarus to cover its current budget deficit, Belarusian authorities say.