Byelorussia: EBRD could become shareholder of Belarussian Olivaria Brewery

The EBRD-European Bank for Reconstruction and Development could become a shareholder of Olivaria Brewery, Nikolai Dudko, the company director, communicated to Interfax News Agency .

A company’s extraordinary shareholders meeting from September 12, decided to expand the company's authorized stock by 42.9% to a total of 29.9 billion Belarussian rubles, Dudko stated. In order to do this, the company will issue 25,700 common shares with par value of 349,000 Belarussian rubles (total value 8.97 billion Belarussian rubles). Consequently, if the bank purchases the entire additional placement, its share in the company's charter capital will exceed 30%.

The sale proceeds will be spent on upgrading the brewery. The company completed the second stage of reconstruction in March 2005 and plans to continue the work. Particularly, the company plans to build new storage facilities and increase beer bottling capacity to 4 million dal per year. The brewery needs over $12 million to implement the project. Olivaria prefers to take loans from the EBRD due to the convenient conditions the bank offers. Olivaria asked for $8 million for up to 7 years, Dudko said.

The EBRD took part in financing Olivaria projects in 1996-1997period. Within the framework of the TACIS program, foreign experts were asked to issue recommendations for the company's development. The company used Belarusbank's credits during the second stage of the reconstruction. The first and the second stages involved about $12 million in 1996-2005. In January-August 2005, Olivaria produced 1.7 million dal of beer, which is somewhat less than in 2004.

Olivaria Brewery OJSC was set up in 1994 on the core of the Belarus Brewery. The company's shareholders are private entities.

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