Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $158.7 million preferential buyer’s credit for Phase 1 of BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#66301 and ID#66304)

$158.7M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of Belarus
Country	Belarus
Start Date	May 10, 2015
End Date	Mar 29, 2026
Duration	3,976 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`66460`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $158.7 million preferential buyer’s credit for Phase 1 of BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project On May 10, 2015, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Belarus signed a $158.7 million preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK No РВС (2015) 10 (352)] for the Phase 1 of the BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project.

The PBC carried a maturity of 12-years and a grace period fo 3.7-years, but its interest rate is unknown.

It is known that the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Belarus on-lent the PBC proceeds to a joint venture called BelGee CJSC (or BelGi CJSC or SZAO BelGee or СЗАО «БелДжи») and the Government of Belarus’ Ministry of Industry agreed to serve as the guarantor of the loan.

Also, on May 10, 2015, China Eximbank issued an additional $88 million loan — with a 10-year maturity — to BelGee CJSC for Phase 1 of BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project. Geely Automobile Holdings Limited issued a guarantee for this loan.

The proceeds of the $88 million loan (captured in Record ID#66304) and the PBC (captured in Record ID#66460) were used by BelGee CJSC — a joint venture of OJSC BELAZ (58.471% ownership stake), Zhejiang Jirun Automobile Co.

Ltd. (36.284% ownership stake), SZAO Soyuzavtotekhnologii (2.97% ownership stake), and CITICC International Investment Limited (2.275% ownership stake) that was established on December 23, 2011 — to finance a $300 million commercial (EPC) contract that it signed with CITIC Construction in March 2015.

The purpose of Phase 1 was to build a passenger car assembly plant — with welding, painting and assembly shops — in Great Stone Industrial Park within the Borisov District of Minsk.

Upon completion of Phase 1, it was envisaged that the passenger car assembly plant would have a production capacity of 60,000 cars (Geely Atlas NL3) per year. CITIC Construction was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began in May 2015 and ended in July 2017. The opening of the plant took place on November 17, 2017.

At the time, it reportedly employed 1300 people (mostly local residents).

On November 17, 2017, China Eximbank and BelGee CJSC also signed a loan (captured in Record ID#66301) for Phase 2 of the BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project.

Phase 2, which seeks to expand the production capacity of the plant from 60,000 to 120,000 cars per year, commenced on the very same day.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as Phase I of the Geely Auto Plant for Passenger Car Production Project, the Production Of Assembly of Cars In 2012-2030 Project, and the BELGEE Passenger Car CKD Plant Project. The Russian project title is Организация производства по сборке легковых автомобилей на 2012–2030 годы or СЗАО «БелДжи» or проекта 'Организация производства по сборке легковых автомобилей'. The Chinese project title is 白俄罗斯吉利汽车生产线项目.
None of the China Eximbank loans that supported Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the BelGee Passenger Car Plant Construction Project are included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset published by Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center in December 2020.

📚 Sources & References

Economic cooperation between Republic of China and Republic of Belarus in the context of implementing the One Belt
One Road Foreign Economic Strategy
Geely helps Belarus realize its “national car” dream
崔启明大使考察吉利白俄罗斯合资公司, СЗАО 'БелДжи' получает кредит в $158,7 млн от Экспортно-импортного банка Китая, Информация о принятых в Республике Беларусь в июле – августе 2015 г. нормативных актах инвестиционной направленности, Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 16 января 2014 г. N 35 'О вопросах организации производства легковых автомобилей'
Big, empty, but full of promise? The Great Stone industrial park in Minsk
白俄罗斯吉利汽车生产线项目
白俄罗斯吉利汽车生产线项目
中信建设白俄罗斯吉利汽车生产线项目荣获中国建设工程鲁班奖
Belarusian BELGEE Passenger Car CKD Plant Project
Belarusian President witnesses first car produced by BELGEE Passenger Car CKD Plant, О предприятии
CITIC projects/ Business overview, Инвестиционная деятельность в Республике Беларусь, О соглашениях, заключенных в ходе визита Председателя КНР Си Цзиньпина в Республику Беларусь, СЗАО 'БелДжи' получает кредит в $158,7 млн от Экспортно-импортного банка Китая, ПЕРЕЧЕНЬвнешних государственных займов, обслуживание и погашение которых осуществляются с привлечением средств республиканского бюджета ( LIST of external government loans, servicing and repayment of which are carried out with the involvement of funds from the republican budget), - Законодательство Беларуси 2021 год, О некоторых вопросах реализации кредитного соглашения с Экспортно-импортным банком Китая, Рабочий визит президента корпорации CITIC Construction
Belarus to Europe, via China
GEELY Annual Report 2019, Постановление СМ РБ 387 08.05.2015 О привлечении кредитов Экспортно-импортного банка Китая Подробнее: https://kodeksy-by.com/norm_akt/source-%D0%A1%D0%9C%20%D0%A0%D0%91/type-%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/387-08.05.2015.htm
China's Overseas Development Finance
WHITE PAPER ON GREEN FINANCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF CHINA Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.