OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2011. We are holding the first meeting of Vnesheconombank Supervisory Board this year. Today we’ll discuss the Bank’s plans and long-term objectives. In the period of the crisis Vnesheconombank played a very important role in supporting key economic sectors such as the banking system, the real economy and participated in the programs of rehabilitating enterprises and credit institutions. In fact, VEB became an efficient anti-crisis-financial management center. Nevertheless, as the situation was stabilizing in 2010, we started to shift priorities by placing more emphasis on long-term development goals, large-scale investment projects aimed at modernization, technical retooling and providing support for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is these lines of activity that should become key priorities this year The Bank’s loan portfolio is scheduled to be increased by 100 billion rubles. These financial resources will be used to fund large-scale investment projects and we’ll discuss a number of these projects today.

Another 10 billion rubles are to be used to support small and medium-sized enterprises. I’d like to remind you that we must bring the amount of financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises to 250 billion rubles. As you know this amount in 2010 was only 50 billion rubles. The mortgage lending development program should be up and running at full capacity. VEB earmarked about 200 billion rubles for these purposes including mortgage housing loans refinancing.

VEB’s participation must secure affordable interest rates on mortgage housing loans. The total amount of mortgage lending is bound to increase too. We expect the total amount of annual mortgage housing loans to reach the pre-crisis level of 650 billion rubles per year by 2012.

VEB must also give top priority to get its regional structures to operate effectively; here I mean the North Caucasus and the Far East. Their task is to be in close contact with investors. You know that the North Caucasus Development Corporation has already been established.  And we have to resolve all organizational issues on forming a Direct Investments Fund for the Far Eastern Federal District and the Baikal region before May 1, 2011. At present, Vnesheconombank is conducting expert examination of Far Eastern projects worth 88 billion rubles. I’m sure that all the plans mentioned will be implemented and VEB’s team will go on working on a traditionally high professional level.

In this connection, I’d like to note that in 2010 VEB received the prestigious Deal of the Year Award. Please, accept my congratulations!

The highest marks were given to the following three projects – the Khabarovsk refinery modernization, the construction of an advanced petrochemical complex in Tobolsk and Pulkovo airport reconstruction in Saint Petersburg. We’ll also discuss another several high technology projects today.

I’d like to place particular emphasis on several projects. Here I mean a USD 1.6 billion credit line for the construction of an ammonia, methanol and carbamide integrated plant in the Republic of Tatarstan. Upon implementing the project the most advanced resource saving and energy efficient technologies will be used; the project will minimize negative impact on the environment and introduce digital production control methods.

I’ d like to stress that the most part of manufactured products (these are nitrogenous fertilizers) will be in demand by our agricultural producers and granulated carbamide have good prospects for export to the CIS, Europe and Asian countries.

We have discussed this project at great length with Tatarstan’s leaders. The Republic’s leaders also attach considerable importance to this project and are deeply involved in this work this is an additional guarantee of this project’s success.

I’d like to draw your attention to one more issue. At the end of the last year we took a decision on Vnesheconombank’s participation in funding regional and urban communal services infrastructure development projects. We have to put in place public private partnership mechanisms for modernizing water and heat supply systems, municipal transport and other facilities. For these purposes VEB is to commit annually 2 billion rubles in the period of five years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).

As a result of their joint efforts Vnesheconombank ad Moscow’s Government have already made a list of investment projects in the transport infrastructure and the communal services system. The Bank plans to commit 900 million rubles in 2011 for these projects’ implementation.

And now I’d like to single out one more important project that involves shipbuilding. You know that we laid down a whole program to rebuild shipbuilding. New shipyards are being built in the Far East and in the North-West of Russia. The United Shipbuilding Company has already formed a good backlog of orders for more than 100 ships. At the same time and for quite apparent reasons our enterprises find it difficult to carve out a niche in the shipbuilding market after a pause of many years. And here there is a need for special government support measures. One of these measures is to be carried out by Vnesheconombank.  VEB is to extend payment reimbursement guarantees to ship customers. And this will give an additional competitive edge to our shipyards. Ship customers will be sure that the proper performance of contracts is backed by solid financial guarantees. Their total sum is to amount to 40 billion rubles.