Agricultural enterprises to receive $144m for leasing deals

Some 4.5bn rubles ($144m) will be allocated from the 2003 federal budget to enterprises of the Russian agricultural sector to lease necessary equipment, Leonid Novitsky, the Deputy General Director of Rosagroleasing, declared at a press conference today. He pointed out that leasing was becoming more attractive to agricultural enterprises this year, because leasing rates had been decreased from 7 percent to 4 percent.

Novitsky noted that due to the drop in the rate, old deals would be revised in accordance with the new rate. At the same time, he stressed that it concerned enterprises located in the regions that suffered natural calamities. According to him, the demand of Russia's economy in leasing operations is some 30bn rubles ($961m), while Rosagroleasing has only 9bn rubles ($288m).