OREANDA-NEWS. On August 06, 2009 The Government of Belarus has approved a list of goods which low-income people can purchase with the help of confessional loans. The relevant decision is contained in Resolution No 1010 of the Council of Ministers, it was learnt from the Council of Ministers’ Office. The document has been adopted in pursuance of Decree No. 371 “On concessional consumer lending” of 6 July 2009.

The list of goods which acquisition envisages concessional loans for the low-income segment of the population includes a wide range of products of national manufacture. Among them are household appliances: TV sets, DVD players made by the Horizont and Vityas Companies, vacuum cleaners and microwaves (Horizont, Midea-Horizont, Vityas), monitors (Integral and Horizont), refrigerators and freezers (Atlant), electric and gas cookers (the Brestgasapparat Company and the Brest Radio Engineering Works, Gomel-based Elektroapparatura). Concessional loans are also granted to acquire washing machines produced by Atlant, the Minsk Plant Termoplast, kitchen electric appliances by the Minsk Plant Termoplast, the Minsk Instrument Making Works, the Torgmash company in Baranovichi and the Ekran Company in Borisov. The list also embraces Belarusian boilers and electric water heaters.

Low-interest loans can be used to purchase carpets of the Vitebsk Carpets and the Carpets of Brest, Belarusian furniture and woodworkers.

Besides, low-income citizens are eligible for concessional loans to acquire mini tractors made at the Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Component Parts and Aggregates and the Smorgon Aggregate Plant, motor bikes and motorcycles (the Motovelo Company), trailers (Bobruiskagromash, Bobruiskselmash, Bobruisk-based Spetsavtotekhnika, the Smorgon Aggregate Plant, the Belarusian Autoworks).

In accordance with the decree “On concessional consumer lending”, low-interest loans will be issued by Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, Belinvestbank and Belpromstroibank for three years at the annual interest rate of 10 per cent for the acquisition of durable nonfoods.

Eligible for concessional consumer loans are the families whose average aggregate income per family member over the three months preceding the loan application date is lower than the average three-month per-capita minimum consumer budget of a four-member family (as of now, this figure amounts to Br1.163,8 million).