Dmitry Medvedev’s opening address:

Dmitry Medvedev: Before we begin, I would like to say a few words. Today, Vnesheconombank’ Supervisory Board is meeting for the last time in 2012, so it is time to review the past year’s work. It is obvious that the Bank’s performance as a development institution has been quite successful. The Bank raised more than $5 billion in long-term credit facilities on financial markets, and I think as a whole In Vnesheconombank Group - around $7 billion. Moreover, VEB issued Eurobonds worth over $1.7bn. These figures are encouraging because they testify to increased trust in the Bank. I would like to thank VEB’s team for their contribution.

Vladimir Dmitriev (Vnesheconombank Chairman): Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Give them my best regards.

Now let’s move to the specific items on today’s agenda. First, we’ll consider the Bank’s participation in funding a business development program of Russia’s largest automaker, AvtoVAZ until 2020. The program aims to upgrade the company’s assembly line s and produce new automobiles models. The program’s total value is 177 billion rubles, with VEB’s participation share being 60. This will be a complex program that includes more than one investment projects. Each project will be subject to comprehensive expert examination before funding is provided. We have to go on doing this further on.

There is another priority I would like to mention. VEB is making strenuous efforts to support the development of the Russian Far East and Siberia. At our last meeting we agreed to increase the charter capital of the Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund by 15 billion rubles, through using budgetary funds. We also plan to additionally capitalize the Russian Direct Investment Fund, VEB subsidiary, by 62 billion rubles; 25 billion of them will be used to fund projects in the Far East.

We’ll also approve VEB’s income and expenditure plan for the next year – the figures are generally in line with the Bank’s strategy until 2015 – and we’ll also consider key performance indicators for the Bank’s employees and management, which should serve as incentives for achieving the Bank’s strategic objectives.

This is our agenda for today, but this is not all – we have a lot of issues to discuss, as usual. Thank you.

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Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev answers journalists’ questions after a meeting of VEB’s Supervisory Board

Question: What issues did you discuss?

Vladimir Dmitriev: We had 15 items on our agenda concerning the Bank’s credit and investment activities, such as accounting documents next year’s budget and many other issues.

 I’ll start with the first item –a credit facility to AvtoVAZ to implement its investment program up to 2020. This transaction was discussed as a result of decisions and a request from AvtoVAZ shareholders, including Renault-Nissan. An agreement on the investment program was signed last week. It is in this context that we are considering a possibility of participating in this investment program worth about 120 billion rubles. VEB’s participation share is up to 60 billion rubles. We discussed this 60 billion ruble limit today in terms of individual investment projects.

We agreed, anyway, on the main parameters of this credit transaction today – its amount, the credit tenure of up to 10 years and rates that will be considered for each individual investment project with due regard to AvtoVAZ’s debt burden and VEB’s liabilities in foreign and domestic markets and interest rate subsidies under the Government’s decisions on Russia’s automobile industry.

I’d like to emphasize once again that in line with our regulatory documents, transactions within 60 billion ruble limit will be discussed by the Bank’s the Supervisory Board in the case that they exceed five billion rubles. Transactions under five billion rubles will be discussed by VEB’s Board with due regard to above mentioned parameters.

The next issue we discussed was the Supervisory Board’s approval of subsidies to Vnesheconombank in the amount of 62 billion rubles to additionally capitalize the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). We also stressed that the Russian Direct Investment Fund was energetically boosting its investment activities. Currently, the Fund has 25 specific transactions in its portfolio. RDIF contributed 11 billion dollars to fund these transactions’. And the transactions with regard to which co-investors have been identified, investment documents have been prepared, the structure of transactions has been determined and RDFI’s participation shares have been determined are worth $2.5 billion.  Importantly, foreign co-investors are ready to contribute from $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion. And these funds will be invested in the sectors to which RDIF gives high priority.

We have also discussed today Vnesheconombank’s non-financial statements that we have already prepared for three years. In general, Vnesheconombank is a leader among companies with state participation and state corporations in preparing and publishing non financial statements that reflect the bank’s priorities in ecological and social responsibility and thus in sustainable economic development. The statements were approved by the Bank’s Supervisory Board.

Today, we have also discussed our income and expenditure plan for the next year, that is, the Bank’s budget. Its main parameters were approved by our Supervisory Board. They include the Bank’s loan portfolio growth, Vnesheconombank’s increased involvement in the investment activity. The budget reflected the growth in the Bank’s own funds through making a contribution to capitalize RDIF and through capitalization the Far East and the Baikal Region Fund. By the way, out of 62 billion rubles contributed to additionally capitalize RDIF, 25 billion will be used this year to fund projects in the Far East and the Baikal region in accordance with a resolution of the Russian Government.

The next year’s budget was approved by our Supervisory Board and it allows for growth in main parameters. But we, of course, take into consideration that Vnesheconombank is a special financial development institution, and that its activity is to be undertaken on a break-even basis. In this respect, we mean profit making is not a main objective of our activity. Hence, such development banks’ indicators as a return on assets and return on capital are different from those in commercial banks including banks with state participation. Our main indicator is capital adequacy ratio and next year this indicator in our Bank will be also higher than 10%.

Today, we have also discussed a plan of charitable and sponsorship activities the total amount of which is a bit less than 3 billion rubles. We channel these funds to the sectors that had been approved by our Supervisory Board earlier – high achievement sports, providing support for the Russian Orthodox Church and its projects including youth spiritual education as well as healthcare, social support for low-income groups and for children suffering from various illnesses. This is of course culture and these are also socio-political issues related to the Open Government’s activity as well as regional development programs in the North Caucasus and the Far East. All this is included in our programs and the budget of our charity and sponsorship activities and these lines of activity were supported by our Supervisory Board.

At the Supervisory Board meeting today, we discussed the personnel issue, as Pyotr Fradkov simultaneously had held two offices for a while – Head of the Export Credit Insurance Agency of Russia and VEB Board Member – in order to synchronize the Bank’s operations aimed at promoting industrial exports and supporting Agency’s activity on providing insurance and guarantee support for exports.. This work has been concluded, and the General Director of the Export Credit Insurance Agency of Russia does not need to hold two offices at the same time. Therefore today, Mr Fradkov has been relieved of his position as Board Member of his own free will. Alexander Ivanov has become Board Member and Deputy Chairman. He is responsible for those lines of activity in the Bank that had earlier been the responsibility of Mr. Fradkov. He is now responsible for establishing a comprehensive system of Russian industrial exports promotion through engaging all development institutions (VEB, the Russian Export-Import Bank and the Export Credit Insurance Agency of Russia); this activity is aimed at raising financial resources on international financial and capital markets, and it has been stepped up recently. This activity is also aimed at cooperating with national and international development institutions. You know that an interbank consortium has been established within the SCO. We have established similar cooperation with development institutions in BRICS countries. We have made a proposal – favored by our foreign partners – to form a pool of development and export promotion institutions within the G20. This proposal will be filled with real substance next year at the St Petersburg Economic Forum and at business events to be held as part of Russia’s G20 presidency.

These are the key issues that have been discussed today. We are very happy that in his opening address the Prime Minister, our Supervisory Board Chairman, praised highly the activities of VEB’s employees and thanked them for their active work.

Question: May I ask you a question about AvtoVaz? When is the first tranche expected and what will it be used for?

Vladimir Dmitriev: It is not clear. It has to do with the Avtovaz modernization program. It provides for the purchase of foreign equipment, re-equipment of existing production facilities, but we have no specific investment projects yet. The decision was based on the funding limit and main terms and conditions.  In the future, the Board or VEB’s Supervisory Board if necessary will discuss each individual project. But the total amount of all projects should not exceed 60 billion rubles.

Question: What about the rates?

Vladimir Dmitriev: I haven’t mentioned the rates intentionally. I have mentioned criteria alone. They must conform to our borrowing terms. Regarding the ten-year period, there is simply no such benchmark on the Russian market. Consequently, it is impossible to make any estimates. But, on the other hand, we must, of course, take into account the potential of AvtoVAZ, its debt burden and specific of funding the company. At one point, the Government decided that AvtoVAZ must pay interest rates equal to a refinancing rate, plus an extra 3%. At that time, the rate of refinancing was 8%. And, once again, we take into account the fact that specific rates are subsidized in line with investment programs of the automobile industry. In the long run, we should set rates that are acceptable both for Vnesheconombank in order to operate on a breakeven basis and for borrowers but, unfortunately, the details are so far …  

Question: May I ask you a question about the budget? You said that the 2013 budget had been specified.  Could you tell us about the 2012 and 2013 profit estimate? And you said that you had approved your borrowing program for 2013. So, could you tell us about next year’s borrowing volumes?

Vladimir Dmitriev: You know, unfortunately, I don’t remember the statistics. I can tell you about profits. Most likely, that we’ll generate 7-9 billion rubles in profits this year.  

Remark: You have generated 32 billion in profits in nine months …

Vladimir Dmitriev: This is in line with consolidated International Financial Reporting Standards, but I mean VEB’s performance in line with Russian Accounting Standards, you were absolutely right.

Question: And for 2013?  

Vladimir Dmitriev: We’ll conduct another inventory in 2013, but, on the whole, we assume that profits 2013 will be equal to our profits for 2012.

Question: The media has reported that board members were to discuss an increase in maximum loan volumes for the Krasnaya Polyana project in order to complete the construction of the Gornaya Karusel (Mountain Carousel) Olympic facility. Why wasn’t this issue discussed? And is it true that VEB can increase or has increased maximum loan volumes for the Krasnaya Polyana project from 12 billion to 52 billion rubles, including interest payments?

Vladimir Dmitriev: This issue is not new. It has already been discussed, and decisions to increase the limit have, in effect, been made. Indeed, we haven’t discussed all issues of VEB’s agenda today because we must follow rules of procedure. We must submit materials to meetings of the working group and VEB’s Supervisory Board within a certain number of days. But we also have an absentee voting procedure. Consequently, several more issues will be submitted for consideration before the New Year, including those concerning Olympic projects, and we expect to make decisions on them before the end of the year.

Question: As far as Sberbank’s criteria regarding Olympic facilities are concerned, have you managed to settle the conflict somehow?

Vladimir Dmitriev: What kind of claims?

Answer: A shareholder of the Krasnaya Polyana project and another shareholder, Mr Bilalov, argue against this loan because the Krasnaya Polyana project will require additional capitalization under this loan and because the share of inventory investors will be eroded, and so on.

Vladimir Dmitriev: Let’s proceed from the fact that we are dealing with a joint stock borrower company and that several other companies besides Sberbank are its shareholders. And, consequently, our decisions must be coordinated with corporate decisions to be approved by shareholders of this company. That’s why I cannot tell you anything else. This means that they must sort things out between themselves. We are not involved in this conflict, if it can be called a conflict, or this situation or incident.

Question: May I ask you a question about borrowings? You wanted to raise $800-850 million worth of syndicated loans this year. Will you manage to raise this amount of funds before the year is out?

Vladimir Dmitriev: I cannot tell you.

Question: And do you plan to operate on foreign markets next year?

Vladimir Dmitriev: Of course we do.

Origin: Internet Portal of the Government of the Russian Federation