UniCredit Bank has issued a bank guarantee in the value of 498 million roubles for the benefit of Piastrella, a ceramic tile manufacturer and corporate client of the Bank’s branch in Ekaterinburg. The guarantee is to be used as collateral for a loan granted to Piastrella by the Russian government’s Industry Development Fund (IDF). The guarantee covers interest payments as well as the principal loan amount.

This follows the IDF approving a loan of 430 million roubles to Piastrella to help the company develop its ceramic tile production in the town of Polevskoy (Sverdlovsk region), where Piastrella is the main employer. The total cost of the project exceeds 1 billion roubles. 

The IDF loan will be used to launch a third production line for the ceramic tiles using digital printing, glazing and rectification techniques (rectified tiles have exact standard dimensions, which makes them easier to lay). The production of these new types of ceramic tiles by Piastrella will combine the use of existing plant capacity and the application of the latest and best tile-production techniques in the industry. 

“We have been a partner of the Piastrella Group for over 10 years, in which time we have carried out both, short-term and long-term financing transactions for the Group’s companies, as well as leasing transactions. Piastrella’s products meet the standards of leading European producers and have won prizes at many international trade fairs,” said Sergey Kudrin, Head of the Ekaterinburg Regional Corporate Center of UniCredit Bank. “We believe that supporting the development of such successful Russian enterprises is highly important for both, the region and the construction industry at large.”

The loan was approved under the IDF terms applicable to development projects.

Industrial Development Fund was established for modernization of the Russian industry, creating new industry sectors and supporting import substitution.

The Fund provides targeted loans at the rate of 1%, 3% and 5% p.a. for development domestic products as well as analogues of advanced international ones.