06 November 2003 00:57
Russian Chamber of Commerce, WB pondering small business financing
MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the World Bank are discussing the
allocation of $300 million for small business development in Russia, said the chamber's Vice President Sergei
Katyrin.
The World Bank is prepared to issue the loan as early as 2004, but the Russian Finance Ministry suggested pushing it
back to 2005, Katyrin said at a meeting of the chamber's board on Wednesday.
"The initiator of these agreements was Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Yevgeny Primakov. After his
meeting with the World Bank's top management in February 2003, a working group for preparing this project was set
up," Katyrin said.
The working group includes Chamber of Commerce members and officials from the World Bank, the Central Bank of Russia,
the Finance, Economic Development, and Anti-Monopoly Ministries, and two associations incorporated in the chamber - the
Association of Russian Banks and the Association of Regional Banks of Russia. The working group also includes members of
enterprise-support organizations and independent experts.
Katyrin said the working group drafted a concept of the project in April 2003, which was approved by the World Bank,
the Central Bank, and the Finance, Economic Development and Trade and Anti-Monopoly Ministries.
Businessmen working in small businesses need cheap financial resources, primarily long-term ones, Katyrin said. [RU
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