CDB provides RMB 3.5 billion ‘emergency’ loan to Ministry of Finance of Belarus to service existing debts and shore up foreign exchange reserves

On December 16, 2019, the Shanghai Branch of the China Development Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus signed an RMB 3.5 billion ($500 million) ‘emergency’ loan agreement (ID № 3110201901100000011). The loan has a 5-year maturity length and an interest rate of 4.8609% The proceeds of the loan can be used by the borrower to repay previous loans, shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves, and/or promote trade between China and Belarus. The Government of Belarus reportedly approached CDB with this loan request after an unsuccessful negotiation with the Russian Government for a similar ($630 million) balance of payments (BOP) loan. The CDB loan was fully disbursed only four days after its was finalized (on December 20, 2019). Belarus’s Ministry of Finance described the loan as ‘unprecedented’.

Additional details

1. Multiple Chinese sources refer to the CDB loan that was issued as a ‘sovereign loan’. 2. This RMB 3.5 billion CDB loan is not included in the China’s Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 3. The loan's interest rate (4.8609%) is identified in the DRS. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/ab8qt4n6jijcbhd/IDS_Average%20interest%20on%20new%20external%20debt%20commitments.xlsx?dl=0

Number of official sources

17

Number of total sources

39