OREANDA-NEWS. July 04, 2012. Belarus plans to refinance a USD 1 billion loan syndicated by Russia’s top lender Sberbank and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Belarus’ Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets told.

“The point is that we need to refinance this loan. The question lies only in the conditions of the refinancing. There are proposals, and they are being analyzed,” Kharkovets said. There are more than two proposals, he also said, adding that Belarus is not currently holding concrete talks on the issue.

Belaruskali plans to redeem the loan ahead of schedule because of unprofitable conditions slated for the next six months of its use.

In November 2011, Sberbank and the EDB agreed to provide a syndicated loan to Belaruskali totaling USD 1 billion, with the Russian bank supplying USD 900 million.