Russia's top bank Sberbank and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will grant a $1 billion loan to develop Belarus' largest potash-maker Belaruskali, EDB head Igor Finogenov said on Friday.
"The loan will be given for Belaruskali's development," Finogenov told reporters.
This summer Sberbank and Deutsche Bank offered Belarus' government, which planned to privatize Belaruskali, a $2 billion loan collateralized against 35 percent of the company's shares, but Belarus wanted to collateralize the credit against Belaruskali's export contracts.
Russian media said this summer that tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, who controls Russia's top potash miner Uralkali, had met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and agreed terms to buy 50 percent plus one share in Belaruskali for $15 billion.
For Kerimov, the success of the deal could mean the creation of the world's largest potash maker. But Lukashenko, whose country is in the midst of a financial turmoil, denied he had any talks with Kerimov and valued the firm at $30 billion.
