The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has arranged a €45mn loan to support Belarusian aluminium manufacturer Alutech Group in its export expansion.

The IFC provided €25mn of the loan, with Belarus’s Priorbank extending the remaining €20mn.

Alexei Zhukov, general director of Alutech, says: “We are facing a growing regional market and opportunities in Europe. IFC’s financing will help us finance construction of a new production plant, consolidate positions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and expand into new markets.”

This is the IFC’s second investment in Alutech, and fits into the corporation’s Belarusian strategy, according to Max Yacoub, head of the IFC’s Belarus office. “Our new project with Alutech will help it further modernise and enhance its transparency. We hope it will also encourage other investments in technologically-advanced companies in Belarus,” he says.

Belarus joined the IFC in 1992, and since then, the corporation has invested nearly US$340mn in several projects in the country.