Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 25 /Trend, I.Khalilova/
Belarusbank intends to propose its Eurobonds to the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), planned to place on international capital markets, Gennady Gospodarik, deputy chairman of Belarusbank, said.
"We have not conducted 'road show' yet to determine the markets for the placement of Eurobonds. We hold a tender to determine the organizers for the placement of Eurobonds to the amount of $ 300 million for three years. If the conditions are acceptable to the IBA, we are ready to sell our Eurobonds to the Azerbaijani bank", he said.
It is not ruled out that the managers, who have organized the primary issue for the country, Royal Schotland Bank, BNP Paribas and Sberbank of Russia, will be chosen.
"We do not need to look for something better. I think that we confirm the involvement of these three banks after reviewing all the proposals submitted by the managers for the country," he said.
He considers the terms of Eurobonds attractive [at a rate more that 8 percent]. If IBA has free funds, Belarusbank is willing to sell its bonds at a rate of libor +7 percent.
He said that Belarusbank plans to enter the Russian market. The bonds worth about 10 billion Russian rubles were issued for a five-year term.
The assets of Belarusbank with 99 percent owned by the state now total about $15 billion, an increase over this year from $11.5 billion.
As a result, its market share in the banking system of Belarus increased from 41 percent to 43 percent on assets, from 60 percent as of early 2010 up to 71 percent on lending of physical entities and retailer. The authorized capital of Belarusbank is $1,2 billion. At present, it is a leader on the banking market of the country. It ranks second on the authorized capital.
About 50.2 percent of IBA shares are owned by the government and the IBA is the largest and only state-controlled bank in Azerbaijan. With total assets of $4.7 billion, IBA has a dominant position in the banking sector.
It stipulates its market share in terms of total banking assets, loans and deposits (44 percent, 47 percent and 43 percent, respectively, as of 2009). The bank plays an important role in implementing state investment and economic policy. It acts as an agent of the government to finance Azerbaijan's large-scale projects of national importance.