Putin proposes gradually raising limits of Project Financing Factory, up to 600 bln rubles at first stage

ST. PETERSBURG. June 7 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed gradually raising the limits of the Project Financing Factory program, which VEB operates.

"We will also increase the capabilities of such an instrument as Project Financing Factory of the VEB of Russia development institute. Projects worth more than 2 trillion rubles are already being implemented with its assistance," Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2024 plenary session.

"I propose gradually increasing the fund's limits. We will increase it to 600 billion rubles at the first stage, which will allow additional support for real sector projects worth up to 6 trillion rubles," Putin said.

The purpose of the Project Finance Factory program is to support large investment projects implemented in the Russian Federation with an overall cost of 3 billion rubles and a financing period of no more than 20 years. The key areas of industry include metallurgy, petrochemicals and gas chemistry, nuclear, high-tech, energy infrastructure, transportation, port and roadway infrastructure, as well as logistics.

A new increase in the Factory program to 600 billion rubles, together with the available remaining limit, will allow project initiators to additionally attract up to 2.5 trillion rubles in syndicated lending from VEB.RF and partner banks, VEB Deputy Chairman Yuri Korsun told reporters on the sidelines of SPIEF.

To date, 40 projects have been approved as part of the mechanism with a total value of 3.9 trillion rubles. The volume of syndicated loans is 2.6 trillion rubles, while the participation of VEB.RF is 670 billion rubles, he said. Of these, syndicated loan agreements were concluded for 31 projects with a total value exceeding 2 trillion rubles, the obligations assumed were fulfilled by the participants, and the money was sent to the projects, Korsun said. Syndicate participants allocated a total of 761.7 billion rubles to projects as of June 1, 2024, of which 168 billion rubles were issued by VEB.RF, he said.

The number of transactions "in the Factory" is constantly growing. There are currently 30 projects with a total value of more than 4.6 trillion rubles and a syndicate volume of 3.5 trillion rubles which are in a high degree of readiness and are planned for approval by the end of 2024, the deputy chairman of VEB said.