- The loans and guarantees given by VEB.RF in three quarters of 2021 have totalled about 535 billion roubles and 176.3 billion roubles respectively;
- VEB.RF’s primary investment focus was on industry, infrastructure, exports and SMEs.
VEB.RF lent about 535 billion roubles in the first nine months of 2021, which is 2.5 times more than in 2020 (215.1 billion roubles).
The total amount of financing provided by VEB.RF in nine months of 2021 for industrial and infrastructure projects including urban economy was 475.3 billion roubles and more than 24 billion roubles respectively. More than 26 billion roubles was allocated to finance Russia’s high-technology exports. Specifically, VEB.RF launched the financing of a whole range of transactions for the supply of Russian-made equipment to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Under the new low-interest lending programme to provide businesses with 3% loans aimed at helping companies to retain their employees and recover businesses, VEB.RF issued surety bonds totalling 104.6 billion roubles to commercial banks.
Nikolay Tsekhomsky, First Deputy Chairman and Member of the Management Board, VEB.RF:
“Since the beginning of 2021, VEB.RF has financed 28 new projects including the largest industrial facilities, such as the Kingisepp-based ammonia and carbamide production facility, the steel mill construction in Vyksa, liquefied natural gas production by Arctic LNG 2, the development project for the Korbalikhinskoye polymetal deposit in the Altai Territory, and infrastructure projects including the construction of airport terminals in Novy Urengoy and Novosibirsk, and the Ufa East Exit. VEB.RF is supporting renovation of the tram network in Taganrog, with first new trams already in operation. The construction of a tram depo has started for the Verkhniaya Pyshma-Yekaterinburg route.”
VEB.RF is focused on the socio-economic impact of financed projects. A very significant project is an ethane-containing gas processing plant in Ust-Luga. The project will be the largest gas-processing production facility in Russia bringing significant impetus to the development of the Leningrad Region and the neighbouring municipalities. With the participation of VEB.RF, a new comfortable housing estate will be built for the plant employees in close vicinity to the plant. The first tranche has already been allocated for the pre-investment phase of the project.”
According to the new strategy, VEB.RF Group’s five key focus areas include:
- Major industrial projects. Above all, this concerns export-oriented projects improving the competitiveness and expanding the use of breakthrough technology;
- Infrastructure and urban economy;
- Exports;
- Small and medium-sized businesses;
- Information technology and innovation.
The second edition of the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) ended in Rome today. VEB.RF Senior Banker Sergei Storchak told the summit about VEB.RF’s products and priorities contributing towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to promoting the green finance market and facilitating energy transition in Russia.
VEB.RF is implementing its own transformation strategy to give a sharp focus to protecting the environment, improving the well-being of people and communities, and introducing best practices in governance,” Sergei Storchak said. “According to the IDFC methodology, green projects already make up more than a third of our portfolio, and we intend to increase their proportion. We are active in financing electric transport and clean energy sources, and helping Russian manufacturers to switch to low-carbon technology.”
According to Sergei Storchak, VEB.RF has a government mandate to develop Russia’s national taxonomy for green projects. Last month, the corresponding document was approved by the Russian Prime Minister. “Russia became one of the few countries with their own national taxonomies,” he said. “We have already started promoting our taxonomy domestically and will present it to the international community at the COP26 conference in November. It is 95% compliant with the new EU taxonomy, and we hope it will meet with a positive reception from the business and expert communities.”
In his speech, Sergei Storchak also told the summit of public development banks about inequalities in access to financing for decarbonisation and energy transition in different countries. VEB.RF is currently subject to restrictions on long-term borrowing from the international market. “Climate issues and related processes have no respect for political boundaries,” he said. “Limiting the ability of VEB.RF and other Russian institutions to raise capital for decarbonisation means putting obstacles in the way of the Paris Agreement. We believe that all restrictions of this kind should be lifted, at least in the case of financial instruments and projects recognised as green in accordance with internationally recognised taxonomies and verification systems. We are open to working together with the coalition members on these issues.”
The Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) is a large international event organised by a coalition of 530 development institutions from all over the world. The goal of the FiCS coalition is to reinforce the global financial architecture towards sustainable development, with public development banks playing a central role. The coalition brings together not only development institutions but also key stakeholders such as governments, regulators, the United Nations, private investors, civil society, academia and central banks. The inaugural Summit was held in Paris in November 2020.