Sberbank starts financing Russia's fishing industry in yuan

MOSCOW. Sept 23 (Interfax) - Sberbank has begun financing the Russian fishing industry in yuan, and has already provided more than 200 million yuan, the bank said in a press release.

Sberbank announced in early September that it was starting to provide loans in yuan, having identified great demand for them on the part of corporate clients.

The fishing-industry loan portfolio in Sberbank is 235 billion rubles, according to the press release. Meantime, the bulk of the funding is allocated for investments in building the fleet of vessels.

"Under the current conditions, a number of measures are required in order to alleviate the percentage burden on fishing enterprises. Consequently, the bank is switching to financing the industry in yuan. The bank also proposes expanding the Agriculture Ministry's preferential program for lending in rubles at preferential rates in order to construct the fleet," the bank said in the press release.

In terms of the timeframes for constructing the fleet, the bank said that it has already begun discussions with the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency (Rosrybolovstvo) and the Industry and Trade Ministry in order to reduce risks and assist shipyards in completing orders.