China loans Belarus one billion dollars: parliament

true lilly Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:38 pm

China loans Belarus one billion dollars:
parliament
From:AFP
September 18, 2011 12:39AM

CHINA has given cash-strapped Belarus a loan of one billion dollars
and a grant of some 11 million, the Belarus parliament said today,
quoting the head of the Chinese National People's Congress.

A statement said Wu Bangguo also announced agreements to build a
communications satellite, a paper factory and a hotel in Minsk in a
meeting with leading members of the Belarus parliament.

"The Chinese government has taken the decision to accord Belarus a
preferential loan of one billion dollars for the realisation of joint
projects, as well as a grant of 70 million yuans," the statement quoted
Wu as saying.

The isolated ex-Soviet country saw its economy thrown into crisis this year
by a yawning budget deficit that emerged after the state went on a spending spree
in the run-up to President Alexander Lukashenko's controversial December re-election.

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On Wednesday the Belarus ruble lost nearly 40 percent of its value as Minsk floated
its currency for the second time in a year in the face of rapidly dwindling reserves.

The government has applied for an eight billion dollar loan from the
International Monetary Fund, while Russia and other partners from the
former Soviet Union have offered three billion dollars over three years.
Both have demanded economic reforms, including privatisations, in exchange.