Oleg Korobchenko opens his own industry development fund

Korobchenko announced the creation of the fund on Friday

An analogue of the federal Industry Development Fund — a regional Industry Development Fund (IDF) is going to start operating in Tatarstan in the short run. As the main financial structure in the Russian Ministry of Trade, it aims to lend money to investment projects in the republic’s industry. Vice Premier and Minister of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan Oleg Korobchenko said this at a behind-closed-doors meeting with directors of enterprises in Kazan (70-80 managers arrived in total), Realnoe Vremya’s sources said.

“The business meeting was held as part of the preparation for the final session of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Here, he [Korobchenko] briefly informed the IDF was founded,” Realnoe Vremya’s interlocutor who was at the meeting said.

According to him, the news given by the vice premier didn’t resonate among the audience because important input data remained unknown:

“It remained unknown on what conditions the fund would work with borrowers, the loan rates and, most importantly, how much money it has,” he explained.

He considers the reproduction of the federal preferential lending mechanism unlikely:

“The IDF’s programmes are funded from the federal budget, billions of rubles are allocated for them. Preferential loans can be taken out for new construction in the industry. The rates are the lowest — from 1% to 5%. These loans are very popular in the republic. Large businesses work with them. I don’t think the regional IDF will be pumped with billions,” he doubts.

One stop for large businesses

“The Tatarstan Industry Development Fund was created in the republic. Vice Premier and Minister of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan Oleg Korobchenko was elected as board chair of the new structure. Marat Bukharayev was appointed as director general of the Tatarstan IDF,” the press service of the Tatarstan Ministry of Industry and Trade confirmed.

“There is a plethora of support for enterprises, and the task of the Tatarstan IDF is to become one stop in all state support measures for the republic’s companies, including the programmes of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Monotown Development Fund and other federal development institutions. Another function of the fund is to help develop the infrastructure for the industry, particularly the involvement of the fund in an industrial mortgage programme is being considered,” Marat Bukharayev said.

The Industry Development Fund JSC was registered on 10 February, the Tatarstan Ministry of Land and Property became its founder (100% of shares), according to SPARK-Interfax database. There is an interesting detail: the fund was created as part of the Export Corporation of Tatarstan, which didn’t manage to develop exports in the end. Foreign economic activity will remain within the new structure’s expertise. It is the creation of new logistic routes, search for outlets for exports, organisation of equipment supply via parallel imports and other tasks.

Director General Bukharayev was vice head of the Investment Development Agency in 2016-2018, then became commercial director of the Direct Investment Fund.

In a phone call with Realnoe Vremya, he said the fund was designed for “large businesses,” but refused to share details.

Aydeldinov’s fund to stay

It is noteworthy here that the republic already has the regional Industry Development Fund, which is an operator of the federal IDF. But it isn’t linked with large businesses directly. The regional IDF is part of Aynur Aydeldinov’s Tatarstan Investment and Venture Fund. It doesn’t have a big budget, this is why it grants loans to SMEs. The size of the fund’s credit portfolio, the amount of target loans and terms aren’t disclosed.

“Strictly speaking, it has always existed but as part of the Investment and Venture Fund,” Realnoe Vremya’s interlocutor explained. “It helped taking out loans for SMEs, its own budget was insignificant. It is unknown how it is doing now. Has it separated itself from the Investment and Venture Fund?” the interlocutor wonders.

With the appearance of the industrial “twin,” the IDF for small businesses won’t cease its operations, the press service of the Tatarstan Ministry of Industry and Trade assured us.

“The Tatarstan Investment and Venture Fund will continue performing functions of the regional operator of the federal IDF,” it said. So the republic will have two funds — Aydeldinov’s fund as official partner of the IDF and Korobchenko’s fund.

Industrial enterprises used to submit applications to take out preferential loans in several programmes of the IDF themselves. Last year, the funding of large-scale projects in transport production and the production of components for cars and agricultural machinery aimed to strengthen the country’s technological sovereignty became a priority last year. Tatarstan managed to defend 18 projects for 23.1 billion rubles, finishing second after Moscow Oblast. In Car Components programme that kicked off in 2022, there were granted 14 loans for a total of 4.52 billion rubles, KAMAZ is among borrowers too.

The press service of the Investment and Venture Fund said:

“The Tatarstan Cabinet of Ministers that has the right to hand over some duties and functions of the founder to an authorised agency in the industry performs the duties and functions of the founder of the Tatarstan Industry Development Fund on behalf of the Republic of Tatarstan.”