BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/04/2008

Belarus leader says Commerzbank aims to enter market

MINSK, April 29 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to enter Belarus, the ex-Soviet state's president, Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.

Investors' interest in Belarus, ruled with an iron grip by Lukashenko, has increased since ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's gave the country its maiden ratings last August and signs appeared that the largely command economy could be unwound.

"Recently I was told that Commerzbank is coming here. It wants to create its own bank in Belarus," Lukashenko told parliament in his annual state of the nation address.

Russian banks VTB (VTBRq.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Gazprombank, and two Ukrainian investors already own several small Belarussian banks. The country's largest, state-owned Belarusbank, said last year it wanted to sell a 10 percent stake to a foreign investor.

Commerzbank is active in Ukraine, where it controls Forum bank, plans to up its stake in Russia's Promsvyazbank, and plans to set up shop in Azerbaijan.

Commerzbank had no immediate comment.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSL2925286620080429

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