White & Case Advises Republic of Belarus on US$600 Million Debut Sovereign Bond Offering
First Ever International Securities Offering from Belarus

London, Moscow,  August 13, 2010 ... Global law firm White & Case LLP acted as English counsel to the Republic of Belarus on its issue of US$600 million 8.75% Notes due 2015. The transaction is the debut sovereign Eurobond offering by Belarus and the first ever international securities offering by a Belarusian issuer. BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Sberbank were Joint Lead Managers and Belarusbank was a co-manager.

"This is an important transaction for several reasons," commented Carter Brod, partner, White & Case. "It is a landmark transaction in that it is the first international bond issue by Belarus and also the first ever international securities offering by any Belarusian issuer. The transaction could also pave the way for offerings by Belarusian banks and corporates that want to tap the international bond markets for funding. In addition, as a widely placed international securities offering, the transaction can be seen as a step toward further integration of Belarus into the global economy."

Pavel Ladik, Adviser to the Minister of Finance of Belarus, commented: "This is a significant transaction for the country of Belarus, and we were pleased to have had White & Case, one of the leading law firms in the world for advising on sovereign financings, advise us on this transaction. It was our first experience of working with leading international law firms and we are glad that our work with White & Case was successful. We believe Belarus will continue working with White & Case in the future."

The White & Case team was led by partner Carter Brod, assisted by associates Elena Andreeva and Tatiana Sidneva. Allen & Overy and Magisters acted for the Joint Lead Managers.

White & Case has a long track record of advising on sovereign bond offerings, having been one of the leading sovereign advisory firms for almost 40 years and having represented over 55 sovereign governments worldwide. The Firm has helped to complete more than 100 privatisation transactions and reschedule more than 20 nations' foreign debts. 

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