RBS not looking to be part of Belarusian Eurobond issue preparations
MINSK. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which late last month announced it would not for political reasons be working further with Belarus, does not for the foreseeable future plan to resume work with Belarusian authorities on readying an issue of sovereign Eurobonds, British Ambassador to Belarus Rosemary Thomas told Interfax.
The bank acknowledges that the situation has changed, and says it has no plans to return to the subject of issuing Belarusian Eurobonds in the foreseeable future, Thomas said.
RBS, which the British government controls, was one of four organizers selected for the $1.8-billion issue (in July-August 2010 and January 2011).
The bank's decision was not driven by the Belarusian government, Thomas said. The decision was not a political move the by British government, she said. Although the bank is 80% owned by the government, it does not influence the bank's commercial decisions, she said.
When Britain's minister for EU affairs learned that RBS had taken part in the Eurobond issue, shortly after December 19 [December 19, 2010, presidential election day in Belarus, when there were massive opposition demonstrations resulting in arrests], he asked his officials to look into the matter, Thomas said. He also requested that the bank to keep an eye on the political situation in Belarus, she said.
The British government did not make any moves to reduce operations in Belarus or to toughen conditions on Belarusian companies doing business in Britain, the ambassador said.
British businessmen do have concerns about going to Belarus, Thomas said. The main thing worrying British businessmen investing in Belarus is how their rights are projected by the court system there. Certain legal cases in Belarus this year have regrettably not helped in any way to boost confidence that the system functions as it should, the ambassador said.