PJSC Sberbank : Sber to provide soft loans for hotel construction under Rosturizm program

Sberbank has joined the Federal Agency for Tourism's soft lending program for hotel construction designed until 2024. Under the program, Russian investors can take out a 3-5% interest loan to build and overhaul hotels. The key criteria when choosing projects are: hotel quality (three stars or higher) and its operations throughout the year.

On its hands, Sber currently has approximately 100 potential deals that meet the program criteria, with the borrowing limit exceeding RUB 150 bn, of which we expect to lend some RUB 30 bn until the end of 2021. Most of the projects are scheduled to be implemented along the Black Sea coast, in the North Caucasus and Mineralnye Vody, near Baikal, in Moscow, and St. Petersburg. While these regions are extremely popular among tourists, some of them still lack quality hotels. We are happy to join the program that should improve the situation and become a development driver behind Russian tourism.

Sergei Bessonov, Vice President, Director of the Lending Products and Processes Division, Sberbank

Interest the size of the Bank of Russia's key rate will be subsidized from the state budget. To this end, the Government of Russia has reserved RUB 18.8 bn, including RUB 10 bn for the years 2021-2023. The project is designed to improve the quality of hotel rooms, which should facilitate the development of inbound and domestic tourism.

August 9 was the closing date for entries from banks. The accredited banks will pick the potential borrowers considering their reliability and financial stability. The banks will then forward the list of investment projects seeking soft loans to Rosturizm, which will team up with the Government Commission on Tourism to make the final decision on which projects will obtain financing. The first projects may be chosen as soon as this September.